Hanging Garden
by thinking in blue
Summary: Alternate Future. Four years later, the Reach have almost completely taken over the Earth. Things look bleak for the league and team (or what's left of them), until an old friend who seemingly betrayed them comes up with a plan so crazy, it just might work.
1. Chapter 1

This was written for the Young Justice Big Bang over on tumblr.

I started writing this back in December, before the second half of season 2 had aired. You'll quickly see it no longer lines up with the canon, so it's more of an alternate future than a potential season 3. It's been my baby for so long now, and I'm glad I finally get to publish it!

* * *

Palo Alto, California

December 24 20:11 PST

He misses the snow.

He remembers past Christmases in Nebraska. Every year there would be this thick blanket of white powder covering the ground. Some of his earliest memories are looking out his bedroom window Christmas morning to scour the snow for reindeer footprints, and sledding down that huge hill in the park on Christmas day. They were almost more exciting than opening up presents. But it never snowed in Palo Alto, and tonight the sky was clear.

Though he knew the lack of snow wasn't the real reason he was unhappy.

He hears a knock on the door, and wonders who it could be. Most of the school had gone home for the holidays. From what he understood, he was the only one on his block still here. The empty campus had felt like a ghost town for the past couple days.

He opens the door and sees it's Dick Grayson, one of his oldest friends, "Hey, Merry Christmas." He says, standing outside his apartment holding a small, wrapped box. He's dressed in a thick winter coat, with earmuffs, gloves, and boots, very inappropriate for 40 degree Palo Alto weather. He thought he heard something about a huge winter storm in Gotham, but he'd been a bit busy freaking out over his quantum physics final to pay much attention to the news.

"Thanks." He says, taking the box, "I'll put it with the others. Do you want to come in?"

"Sure." He takes his winter wear and throws it over the sofa. He looks around the small living room. Wally hadn't exactly had time to spruce the place up, so books, papers, empty take out boxes, and cans of Red Bull are strewn over the coffee table, and the whole room smelled like a combination of pizza and Mongolian beef, aka his dinners for the past three days.

"I see you didn't put the tree up." Dick says, side eyeing the pile of presents in the corner where his tree stood last year. Artemis had insisted on going all out for Christmas last year, buying a seven foot tall tree dusted with fake snow, a nativity set, three long strands of icicle lights, and a bunch of snowman and Santa Claus themed knickknacks. '_It's our first Christmas together.' She said hanging the huge, fresh wreath she bought earlier on the wall 'I want it to be special.'_

He didn't really feel like decorating this year.

"Yeah, I just didn't get around to it. You know, finals and all."

"Oh." He says plainly.

"Look, I know you didn't come all this way to give me a present and eat the food in my fridge, what are you here for?"

"No reason. I just heard you weren't going home for Christmas. I thought I'd stop by and see how you were."

He chuckles, "Oh, that's it. Well, finals didn't end until the 22nd, and my Fraternity leaves for our trip to Mexico on the 26th, I just figured it'd be easier if I stayed here for the holidays. It'd be a hassle to go home for only a few days."

"Are you sure that's it?" Dick asks.

"Yeah, of course that's it. Have you been talking to my parents, because you sound just like them? I'm fine, really. I'm not depressed or lonely or whatever it is you're thinking."

"No Wally, I haven't been talking to your parents, but it doesn't take a detective to know you miss her."

His statement hits a nerve, and Wally looks away, speaking softly, "I guess, well, I was hoping Artemis would be back by Christmas. It was her favorite holiday, you know. I know it's completely out of her control, and I don't blame her, or you, or anyone really. It's just not fair that she has to spend Christmas on Black Manta's ship, pretending to be someone she's not."

"You're right, it isn't, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"Yeah, but I wish there was." He says heavily.

"Hey." Dick says brightly, trying his best to lighten up the mood. "Why don't you open up the present I got you?"

"Well, I don't normally open up gifts on Christmas Eve, but since you're here, what the heck." He struggles with the bow for a minute, then rips off the paper and opens up the box, "A watch." He says, a pretty typical gift from rich kid Grayson. He slips it on his wrist and gives it a good look. It was made from a sleek, black metal, very stylish. But it also seemed sturdy, like if he dropped it from up high or into water it wouldn't break. The watch face was very modern. Digital, with the numbers illuminated in large print.

"Press the big button on the side." Dick says, and he does. The large screen with the time was now displaying Dick's face. "Hey." He says, there's a second delay from when he says it and when Wally hears it on the watch.

"A communicator watch, how thoughtful. Because, you know, we can't just call each other." Wally says back sarcastically.

"It's not just between you and me you dork." He says, rolling his eyes, "I'm working on making watches for Kaldur and Artemis too. I just need to find the right frequency so our conversations can't be intercepted."

"So you're saying with this watch, I can talk to Artemis, or you or Kaldur, whenever I want?"

"Well, not whenever you want. The small white button turns off the communicator mode, so they can't get calls when they're with Manta, or Deathstroke, or any other time it might hurt their cover. But otherwise, yeah, you can talk to them whenever you want."

"Well, thanks." He says brightly. "I have something for you too. But I err... wasn't expecting to see you so soon, and I haven't gotten around to wrapping it yet. I could do that quickly, or I could just give you the gift, or maybe when I see you-"

"I'll take it now, without wrapping paper."

"Okay, give me a sec." He dashes off to his bedroom, and returns a minute later holding a DVD case, "Hey, did you hear about that big meteor shower that's supposed to hit tonight?" He asks.

Dick laughs, "I'm pretty sure that was last week."

"Was it?" He ponders, he's honestly not sure.

"Yeah, I remember hearing about the great view people in Washington DC had of it."

"You know maybe it was last week, I haven't exactly been kept up with the news, finals and all, you know?" He says sheepishly, "But when I looked out my bedroom window I saw this huge meteor falling from the sky."

"Really?" Dick asks, curious.

"Yeah, maybe we can see it from the living room." Wally draws back the curtains from the window, and they both look out at the night sky. Sure enough there's a very large object hurling towards the ground, probably somewhere close.

"Not really much of a shower." Dick laughs, "But I was a little busy capturing Riddler during the last one, so I guess this will have to do."

"Yeah, same here. Well, in my case I was studying thermodynamics, not fighting crime. Hey, is that a Green Lantern?" He asks, pointing at a small green dot next to the meteor.

"Yeah, looks like it. Hmm… I doubt he can keep it from crashing, so I think he's trying to keep it from hitting the ground hard, or hitting a heavily populated area. I don't get it though, why doesn't he just smash the thing?"

"Maybe he's concerned about debris, or." He squints harder at the meteor, now surrounded in a green, translucent bubble, then his eyes widen, and he looks shocked, "Oh my God."

"What?" Dick asks, and looks at him with a puzzled expression as he runs top speed to his bedroom. Something must have startled his badly if he's using his powers. He returns within seconds, holding the goggles from his old Kid Flash uniform. He presses them to his eyes.

"No! It can't be!" He shouts.

"Wally, what is it?"

"Dick," He starts, shaking as he takes the goggles off his face, "that's the Watchtower."

He just looks at him for a moment, hoping he's not serious, that he's made some sort of mistake. He grabs the goggles out of his hands. He can make out the silvery building embedded into the rock, it's the Watchtower, and from the billowing smoke coming from a bit of the charred rock, it became clear that the Watchtower didn't fall, it had been shot clean out of the sky.

He furrows his brow and balls his hands into fists tightly against the goggles, "Whoever did this is gonna pay."

-o-

"Yes, it must have been a wonderful Christmas surprise for the Justice League to see that their previously secret headquarters had crashed into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but I suppose that's what happens when you take a structurally unsound building and make it float around the Earth. Do you know how long the League kept this 'Watchtower' as they call it hidden from the public? Nearly ten years. And were they planning to tell us about it? Never. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if it wasn't for our friends the Reach, the League would still be operating there in secret. Though I suppose they still are operating in secret, it's not like they ever let anyone _see_ the inside like they did the Hall of Justice. I and several other news reporters like Cat Grant, tried to get a tour. They declined. Suspicious? I certainly think so. They don't like working out in the open. Who knows, maybe this destruction of their headquarters was deliberate. Maybe they wanted to get rid of their old no longer secret base, and build a new one. But this time, they'd make sure it stayed out of the public eye. Doesn't sound too farfetched, does it? I'll leave you to mull that over some eggnog and Christmas ham. This has been G. Gordon Godfrey, good night."


	2. Chapter 2

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

December 25 7:02 EST

Four years later

Mal was determined to celebrate Christmas as normally as possible (though his version of Christmas couldn't really be considered the "norm" anymore, as the rest of Earth's population was enslaved by the Reach and most likely didn't get holiday leave). He traveled nearly twenty miles to find a tree, as there weren't very many still standing, and the one he found was a palm tree, about four feet tall. He replanted it into a barrel, strung a few lights on, and made a star out of cardboard to top it. It now sat in the lobby of the abandoned hotel they'd been basing their operations out of for the past month.

"Merry Christmas y'all!" He shouts gleefully as he enters the lobby, arms laden with gifts, handmade trinkets wrapped in old newspaper. He made sure the cuttings didn't have articles about the apocalypse, or a dead teammate, or anything that would dampen the mood. Today would be about celebrating, not mourning the past.

"Merry Christmas." They greet back, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

Including himself, there were seven of left on the team (his team, he supposed, as they'd elected him leader nearly two years ago). Three former Leaguers, three former Team members, and one who was never a member of either. The rest were dead. Well, not all of them. A few, not many, but a few, left the Team or the League by their own choice. He assumed they were still around somewhere, though they hadn't been heard from in years.

He frowns, seeing that the entire team isn't there. Four of them, J'onn, Zatanna, Billy, and Milagro, were sitting by the tree, sipping coffee and chatting quietly with one another. La'gaan and Artemis were elsewhere. Odd, it wasn't like either to oversleep. He told them they were taking a day off from training for Christmas, and they would open gifts by the tree at 7. While he didn't make it mandatory for people to come, he highly encouraged it. It would be fun, and they hadn't had much of that in a while.

"Where's La'gaan and Arte-" he starts to ask, but then answers his own question, "They're in the gym, aren't they?"

"Want me to get them?" Billy asks.

"No, I'll do it, but don't start opening presents without us ok."

-o-

"25, _huff _26…" He breathes as he bench presses the weights in the hotel gym. The gym was supposedly 'state of the art' in its heyday, but even the heaviest weights barely provide a challenge when he's puffed up.

"Hey La'gaan." Mal says.

"Oh, hi, 29…" He says, not stopping his workout to chat. He knows what Mal is going to ask him, and he's really not in the mood.

"So, we're all upstairs opening presents."

"Yeah… and?"

"Do you want to maybe come up and join us?"

"Not really. 32…"

"Okay then." He says, it's pretty much what he expected from La'gaan, "But you know we're taking the day off, right?"

"Yeah, you told me. 34…"

"So that means no working out."

"Ok, just let me finish this last rep."

"How many more do you have to go?" Mal asks impatiently.

"I'm trying to get too 100, so 60 or so. 38…"

"60, seriously?" Mal takes the weight as La'gaan holds it in the air, and guides it back onto the bar above him, "No, you're done now. Clean yourself up, and come open Christmas presents with the team."

"Why should I? I'm Pagan, I don't even celebrate Christmas."

"Never stopped you before." Mal mutters dully.

La'gaan sighs, and walks over to the gym's only window, "I used to get into it when there was something to celebrate." He rips the cord of the window's blinds, and gestures toward the barren world outside, "Is this anything worth celebrating?!"

They always kept the window closed. Mostly to keep anyone who might still be here from spotting them, but also so they didn't have to look outside. Everything was grey. Grey sky, grey sand, grey water, and grey ash and debris all around them. Myrtle Beach used to be a beautiful beach destination, now it's an abandoned ghost town. The apocalypse destroyed it, along with everything else on the surface of the planet. The hotel they currently occupy is one of the only buildings still standing, almost everything else is in ruins.

"La'gaan." He says patiently, closing the blinds, "This is why we need to celebrate. We can't let the hopelessness take over. We have to stand up, say 'No, I'm not going to accept this.' It might be dark outside, but we can't let that darkness seep into here."

La'gaan scoffs, "Thanks for the pep talk, really motivational."

Mal glares at him, "Just get your ass downstairs and open presents with us."

"I still don't think this is right though. We have to prepare."

"Taking one day off isn't going to make that much of a difference."

"I guess you're right. Let me hit the showers, I'll be down in ten."

"Good," he turns to leave, but stops, "Hey, have you seen Artemis? I figured she'd be here with you."

"She was. She got here before me, you know how she likes to get up early, but she left maybe a half hour ago. Said something about target practice outside."

Mal shakes his head, "I hate it when she does that. Doesn't she know how dangerous that is?"

La'gaan laughs, "I think that's why she likes doing it so much."

-o-

_Twang _180 spin _twang _forward roll _twang twang twang. _An arrow leaving her bow is one of her favorite sounds. She inspects her hits, all spot on. Every street lamp on the sidewalk now has an arrow sticking through its bulb. She didn't feel bad about the blatant vandalism; none of them worked anyways. She takes care in retrieving her arrows. She's broken them before while trying to retrieve them, and they're a pain in the ass to fix. She remembers the days where she had an endless supply of arrows, and there was no need to keep reusing the same beaten and battered ones, but that was a long time ago.

She needs something else to shoot, something challenging. She wishes she could have moving targets. Last week she jerry-rigged a catapult that flung seashells for her to shoot, but Mal blew up at her for that. '_Do you want to give away our location?! If they find us you know what will happen!' _He's probably going to throw another fit when he found her out here, again, but there wasn't really much he could do about it. What was he gonna do, kick her off the team?

She decides to target an old souvenir store, or what's left of it, only one wall is still standing. There must be something fun for her to target, but while she strings her bow she spots something out of the corner of her eye. A figure, moving fast, so fast it was just a blur of black and orange. The black meaning a human government official, and the orange meaning ginger hair. Instantly she thinks of Wally.

But she shrugs it off. It couldn't be him. There was no way he'd find them here, and even if he did, he wouldn't be alone. He'd probably have the entire Reach army with him, ready to kill them all.

She finishes stringing her bow, and sees the blur again. "Who's there?" She calls out, "I'm warning you, I'm armed." She stays at the ready, staring intensely at the spot she thought she saw someone, until she's satisfied that no one's there. She points her arrow at the period in the 'three beach towels for only S9.99' sign, but her aim is thrown off when she hears a voice behind her.

"Artemis." It says, and she has absolutely no doubts that it's Wally. She turns and fires the arrow at the space next his ear. He hears it whizzing past, and knows she didn't miss. She didn't want to hit him, she just wanted to send a message.

"That was a warning shot." She snarls, with a tone of menace and bitterness he'd never heard from her before, "Make any sudden moves and I swear, the next arrow goes straight through your skull."

"Artemis, please." He begs, he throws his arms into the air, "I mean no harm."

She scoffs, still pointing her bow at him, "Yeah, that's what you said last time."

"I just want to talk."

"What makes you think I care about anything you have to say?"

"It's important. What I have to say could benefit the team and its cause."

"Don't talk about the team like you're still on it. Are you being followed? Is this some kind of trap?"

"No, I swear. You can search me for bugs if you like. Please, I'm begging you, just hear me out."

She hesitates, he looks and sounds truthful, but there's no way she can be sure. After all, he seemed truthful last time, before he betrayed them, "I'm going to lower my bow. You better not try anything, and if you do, I won't go easy on you."

She slowly brings her bow down, he stays motionless, hands still facing the sky, "See, I don't want to hurt you. I'm on your side, I always have been."

"What are you here for Wally?"

"Well-" but he doesn't get a chance to say much, right as he starts to explain, Zatanna's voice interrupts him.

"Artemis? Where are you?"

"I'm right here Zee." She says coolly, not taking her eyes off Wally.

"Artemis, there you are. Mal's pretty upset that you went out again, and-" She stops upon seeing Wally, "What is he doing here?"

"That's what I want to know."

"Zatanna, please, I'm not here to hurt you guys. I just want to talk."

"Oh yeah, you can talk alright. _Ffuc mih._" She says forcefully. Metal shackles form around his wrists and ankles, "You can start by telling us what the hell you're doing here."


	3. Chapter 3

Washington DC

August 15 21:22 EDT

Three years previous

_The Newly rebuilt Hall of Justice was too quiet for Artemis' liking. Well sure, there wasn't really much to be loud about. After all, they'd added Flash and Impulse to their mounting death toll not even a week prior. She hated this funeral ritual everyone seemed to have. Whenever anyone died, they'd all go silent for days, and every time she tried to talk to them, not a lengthy conversation, just something along the lines of 'Hi, how are you?'. They'd just look at her with dead eyes and say 'fine.' She suspected some of them were still mad at her for all that grief they went through when she 'died' a little more than a year back, though they of course never said anything to her about it. _

_"Recognized Kid Flash B03." The computer drones, and Artemis turns toward the zeta tube entrance, shocked. Someone probably should have taken him out of the computer system. That was usually Nightwing's job. He wasn't exactly around to do it anymore._

_"Sweet, it still works. Artemis, you don't know how good it is to see you. Got any food?" He says, beaming down at her. She's not sure whether she should kiss him or slap him across the face, so she just stares at him in disbelief that he'd have the nerve to come here. Wally didn't die alongside Flash and Impulse in the battle; he'd done something much worse. He surrendered, willingly, and became one of the Reach's slaves._

_"Wally, why are you here?"_

_"I thought that would be obvious. I'm here to be your double agent."_

_"And what makes you think we want anything to do with you?" She spat bitterly._

_"Oh don't tell me you believed that TV broadcast." He seethes. The Reach had made a huge deal about one of the heroes turning over to their side. They made a special service announcement, showing off loyal, obedient Wally to the masses, and encouraged others to do the same._

_"Well it seemed pretty convincing to me."_

_"Of course it was convincing. The Reach wanted it to be, and I played along. They probably suspect I'd do exactly what I am now, and I needed them to think I'm on their side."_

_"I-," she stammers, "I don't know what to believe right now. We're all convinced that you betrayed us, and I just don't know what to do."_

_"Artemis, believe me. I am 100% devoted to this cause."_

_"Well, I still don't know if this is a good idea."_

_"Artemis, I didn't surrender to the Reach to become their errand boy. I want to be useful to you guys. Do you know how much I risked coming here?"_

_"Of course I know." She says, voice rising, "I was a double agent too, as you surely remember. I know exactly how much of a risk it is. It's how Kaldur _died._ It's how I would've died too, if I hadn't done something incredibly stupid. Wally, all the risk involved can quickly become a liability, putting you, the League, and the Team in danger."_

_"So, would you rather I had died?" He asks darkly, "Would you rather my body be hanging in a noose over the wreckage of the Watchtower?"_

_"Of course not Wally! How could you even suggest that?"_

_"We don't need any more martyrs Artemis. Enough of us have died already. Please, let me help you guys, because if I don't, there's really no point in me still being alive." Artemis' expression softens. He couldn't actually be considering suicide, could he? He looks so pained saying it._

_"Well, if you do this. It's not just going to be between you and me. If you're a double agent for me, you're a double agent for everybody. We can't keep this a secret from the Team and the League."_

_"And I completely agree with you."_

_"Then if you want everyone to know, it's not up to me whether or not you can do this. You're going to have to get this approved through the rest of the Team and the League. I can call in the members that are here right now to discuss it, but you're probably not going to have full approval until tomorrow."_

_"Thanks," He caresses her face gently with his fingertips, "Everything is going to be ok Artemis."_

_She relaxes somewhat as his fingers touch her face, "I wish I had your optimism Wally." _

-o-

Myrtle Beach

December 25 7:29 EST

Present Day

"Why did you bring him here?" La'gaan seethes. Out of all their teammates' reactions, his was the most violent.

"Would you have rather we let him run off?" Artemis asks, "If the Reach knew where we were, we'd be dead already. We figured they only sent him to track us down."

"Or I could be on your side!" Wally insists.

"Couldn't you have blindfolded him, so he wouldn't know where we are?" La'gaan asks.

"We thought about it, but it's not like it would be hard to find us. There's only a few buildings still standing," Zatanna answers.

"Anyway," Mal starts, trying to find the real purpose in Wally tracking them down, "What's this message you say Wally's trying to deliver."

"We don't know yet." Zatanna responds, "We figured it would be best to wait until we could all hear it."

"Do you have any idea what it could be?"

"Nope, except it's 'important' and 'could really help us'." Artemis says, trying to mimic him, but clearly over exaggerating the urgency in his voice.

"I don't sound like that."

"Have you tried listening to yourself?"

"Can you guys take these shackles off now?"

"No! It's what a traitor like you deserves!"

"La'gaan, please." Mal says forcefully, "Zatanna, could you?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asks.

"Not entirely, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt."

"If you try to run," Billy says, "I can move just as fast as you. Remember that."

"I know I know, speed of Mercury."

"_ffucnu mih." _The cuffs disappear.

"See look," Wally says, waving his arms and kicking his legs dramatically, "I'm uncuffed, there's nothing binding me to this building, yet I'm not running. I don't want to go anywhere, and I don't want to turn you in."

"I'm sorry we initially doubted you." J'onn says, "But I'm sure even you agree it was a necessary precaution."

"And you still have a long way to go before we completely trust you." Artemis adds.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He sighs, defeated.

"Um... I haven't officially welcomed you yet." Mal starts. It's time to get this meeting started.

"You really don't need to."

Mal ignores him, "We always welcome visitors. This is the temporary headquarters of the Justice League. This is the Team, I'm sure you know everyone."

Wally rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I know them."

"Then the floor is yours. Tell us whatever it is you have to say."

He sits down in one of the black, leather chairs at the long table in the hotels conference room, and takes a deep breath. "Nightwing is alive."

There's outcry among the team.

"What!?"

"That's ridiculous!"

"What proof do you have?!"

"How dare you speak his name!"

"This is definitely some kind of trap!"

"You guys, you guys, SHUT UP!" Wally shouts over the voices. The chatter stops and the attention is back towards him, "I can literally explain everything if you just let me finish.

"I know he's alive because I've seen him. We've talked three times in the past two weeks, and we did so via this communicator watch." He points at his wrist to show them his watch, "Artemis can verify that this watch provides a direct link to Nightwing, she has one just like it."

"Well, had one just like it. Mine broke years ago, but yeah, it does what he says."

"So you say you've talked to Nightwing through this watch, do you think you can contact him now?" Zatanna asks.

"Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea." He presses the big button on the side, and waits for Nightwing to appear, "Dick, it's Wally, can you hear me?" He waits a minute or two, before determining he's not going to respond. "He's closed off the link between us, no matter how many times I try, he won't answer. I've never tried calling him before. He's always been the one to contact me. But believe me, it happened, we talked, and I'm not making this up.

"He was with Batgirl, and Robin when they died, but instead of killing him, they kept him as a test subject. They've been experimenting on his meta gene, though all attempts to harvest it have failed. They've stopped experimenting on him, but he's still alive for some reason. Though his imprisonment is excruciatingly painful from what he's told me. He's been under strict Reach watch for nearly three and a half years, until recently when he managed to break free, temporarily, and contact me. He probably tried to contact you too Artemis, but was unsuccessful, since your watch doesn't work."

"Hey, it's not my fault my watch broken beyond repair."

"I wasn't blaming you babe."

She narrows her eyes, "Well it sure sounded like it. And _don't _call me babe."

"I wasn't though. " He says impatiently, "Anyway, Nightwing can't escape on his own. He's being kept at STAR Labs in Taos, New Mexico, and he needs our help to break free. That's why I'm here. I need your help to save him. I can't do it alone, but with a combined effort, I really think we can do it. So what do you say, are you in?" He smiles, expecting some kind of valiant battle cry from them. The prospect of having Nightwing back to lead their team must stir something in them. Instead they stare at him with quizzical looks.

"I don't know Wally," Mal says skeptically, "It seems really risky."

"But you guys are heroes," Wally shouts, "Isn't that what you do, risk your lives to help people?"

"In case you haven't noticed, there's only seven of us left, we can't afford to be that risky." Mal responds.

"But it's Nightwing!"

"And the only witness who's seen him is _you!" _La'gaan roars.

"Oh, so you're saying don't trust me?" Wally replies coolly.

"You've failed to give me any reason to."

Wally glares at him, "Well he's there, _suffering, _whether you guys believe me or not. I'm going to do something about it, while you guys sit here in safety and do _nothing _like always. Yeah, you've made a few half-assed attempts, but you haven't done anything to fight the Reach in nearly two years. I hear things from people. Half of them are angry that you haven't done anything, and the other half are scared because it's a crime to as much as breathe the same air as you."

"We're the only people left to protect the Earth, we can't go at them guns blazing. We tried that, and you know what, it's the reason there's only seven of us left. And I didn't say we weren't going to help you, I just said it was risky." Mal shouts.

"So will you help me then?"

"We're going to discuss it some more, without you present, and then we'll vote on it. It'll all happen today, we'll probably have a decision in the next hour, so don't complain that we're taking too long."

"Well then," He says, heading towards the conference room door, "I'll leave you to talk."

"Zatanna." Mal says.

"_ffuc mih."_

Wally falls over, thrown off balance by the cuffs forming around his ankles, "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes it was. You know, maybe we'd trust you a bit more if you didn't complain so much." She helps Wally to his feet, and escorts him out the door, "I'll take him to the lobby where he can wait for us, you guys start without me."

"Okay," Mal begins, "The subject of this meeting is whether or not to accompany Wally, to STAR Labs and rescue Nightwing. Thoughts?"

"Yeah, a question." Milagro starts, "How can Nightwing be _alive? _Isn't his body on public display with the rest of the heroes?"

Billy clears his throat, preparing to answer. Milagro was the youngest and newest member of the League (She only became a Green Lantern three years ago, after Guy died and she received his ring), so sometimes she wasn't as informed as the others. Come to think of it, she'd never even met Nightwing,

"Actually no, he's not there. It was never exactly explained why, we've always assumed his body was too err... damaged to hang. But just because his body isn't there doesn't mean he's alive, I mean M'gann's not there either, but you know that's because… uh... never mind." He finishes quickly, seeing the pained expressions on J'onn and La'gaan's faces. M'gann's death was still a sore subject for them.

"Oh, sorry. I just thought…"

"It fine Milagro." Artemis reassures her, "The fact that he's not there isn't exactly public knowledge. I only know because I was there, and his body wasn't."

"Wally's safely in the lobby. For extra reassurance, I tied him to a chair. He's not going anywhere." Zatanna arrives back and plops over into one of the vacant chairs, "Dear God, Wally is obnoxious. He seriously thinks all the scrutiny and distrust we've shown him isn't deserved. I'm tempted to just leave him there and rescue Nightwing ourselves."

"So are you saying you think Nightwing actually being held captive?" Mal asks.

She sighs, "His story adds up, I'll give him that. And of course I want to believe Dick's alive, he was one of my best friends, and I'd do anything to save him. But only having _his _word that he's talked to him isn't much, and I'm not sure it's enough proof."

"I tapped into his mind." J'onn states, "I didn't delve too deep, I don't like go too far in without permission, but from what I saw on the surface, everything he's told us is true. I saw nothing of a plan to bring us to the Reach."

"Well, that seems like pretty solid evidence he's not lying." Billy says.

"Yeah, but he's also been taught how to resist a telepath." Mal says.

"True, and he of course he could be hiding something deeper. I could probe his mind further if you'd like."

"If he knows how to resist a telepath, there isn't really a point." Zatanna says miserably, "Still, it doesn't really seem like Wally to use Dick of all people to get to us."

"Actually it seems like the perfect plan. He knows that Nightwing would stir us to do something." Artemis reasons.

"And it's not like he hasn't used his so called friends to further the Reach's agenda before." La'gaan mutters darkly, "Look at what happened to his 'friends' Conner and Zatara."

"What happened two years ago doesn't have anything to do with our present situation." Billy protests.

"It has everything to do with our present situation." La'gaan argues, "Wally killed Conner and Zatara, destroyed the Helmet of Fate, and had plans to kill the rest of us. What if this is just another plan to finish us off for good?"

J'onn groans, "As I've said before, the Helmet of Fate can't be destroyed."

"Well it has to have been." Zatanna says quickly, "I mean if the Reach had such a powerful object in their possession, they'd use it."

"Look, it doesn't matter what happened to the Helmet, or Conner or Zatara. Wally didn't kill them. He wasn't there when they died! He didn't pull any trigger!" Billy shouts.

"He as good as killed them. It was _his_ information that _he _gave them that allowed the Reach to do it."

"That information was forced out of him La'gaan! He didn't get a choice!"

"Yeah, but still. It's all his fault it happened, he's the one to blame. He should have done something,_ anything _besides giving away all our secrets and plans."

"La'gaan, I've been in his position before. It's a lot harder than you'd imagine."

"Oh don't defend your boyfriend Artemis!"

She scoffs, "Wally is not my boyfriend. Whatever feelings I had for him, yes La'gaan _had, _don't affect my judgment now. And I'm not defending him either, I'm simply stating a fact."

"So you don't trust him?" J'onn questions.

"No I trust him. Or rather, I trust that he thinks he's seen Nightwing, but I don't know whether he actually has. This has all the earmarks of a Tanamaxinine-Six hallucination."

"He's not still on that is he?" Mal asks, concerned.

She shrugs, "Your guess is as good as mine, I would hope not though. It did some crazy shit to him, and he knows it. But the other thing I'm thinking is he's unknowingly being used by the Reach to lead us to them. Like, they created a realistic-looking hologram of Nightwing, and showed it to him, making him think he was there. They knew that Wally seeing Dick would send him into frenzy, and it probably wouldn't even cross his mind that it's a trap. "

"But that doesn't make any sense." Billy starts, "If the Reach knew where we were, they'd come and kill us. They're not into games like this."

"Maybe they needed something to lure us out of hiding. Wally had a point; we really haven't done much of anything in two years. That begs the question though, how did Wally find us?" Mal asks.

"We've been here for a while, perhaps a civilian spotted us." J'onn suggests. They never stayed in one place very long, usually moving at least every other week. They'd been in Myrtle Beach since Thanksgiving.

"Yeah, I'd been thinking we should move after New Year, or whenever this Nightwing business is done, depending on how the vote goes. But I haven't seen that many civilians around here."

"Well, it's not like we go out looking for them. In fact, we're not really allowed to go outside at all." Artemis snarks.

"Because I wanted to avoid exactly what's happening now. I told you, you shouldn't have been going out for target practice."

"Oh, so now it's my fault Wally showed up at our doorstep?"

"I didn't say that Artemis!"

"But you implied it!"

"You guys stop it," Billy says, "It doesn't matter how he got here. We're trying to figure out what to do now that he is here."

"I guess you're right, so are ready to vote?" Mal asks, getting somewhat impatient.

"Not yet." Zatanna says, turning towards Milagro. She looks up from the paper she'd been absentmindedly doodling on, "Milagro, you've been unusually quiet this whole meeting. Do you have anything to say about this?"

"Not really. I didn't know Wally the way you guys did, he was well undercover by the time we met. I t don't really think it's my place to decide the legitimacy of his story."

"Milagro, you're a member of this team, you get as much of a say as the rest of us."

"Well, I don't know. I guess, I'm not entirely sure I trust him. He's never made any effort to talk to us after his betrayal until now, when he needs us. He only associates with us when he _needs _us, and that just doesn't bode well with me."

"I think he wants to get back on good terms with us." Artemis suggests, "He simply doesn't show it very well, but I can tell he's trying. And yeah, he might only be using us for his own cause, but we could benefit from his cause too."

"Well, if nobody else has anything to add, I'd like to get started on the voting." Mal begins, "All those in favor of rescuing Nightwing, please say 'aye'."


	4. Chapter 4

Wally can't stand waiting much longer. How long have they been debating for? He wishes he could check his watch to see how much time has passed, but it's handcuffed behind his back. He can only guess they've been going at it for at least a half hour.

He taps his foot on the ground impatiently, wishing he could vibrate his molecules through the ropes and shackles. He never figured out how to do it though, no matter how many times he attempted it, and he knew it wouldn't work. He'd only end up with a bloody nose if he tried. Then they'd come back and see him with blood dripping out his nostrils and assume he'd tried to get away, and trust him even less.

It was frustrating how they would not believe him. They're wasting precious time discussing whether or not he's trustworthy, when they could be on their way to Taos. If this wasn't enough of a call for action, what was? He imagines that even if he got Dick on the line saying he was alive and being kept by the Reach they'd still be skeptical. It was like it was their life's mission to scrutinize every single thing he said.

As much as he hates to admit it though, he knows he was pushing them too hard to trust him. It still sickens him to think about what he did. How could he have been so reckless, thinking he was invincible and could get away with anything? If he could take one thing back in his life, it would be that moment he carelessly ran off from his Reach Work Camp, without checking for any cameras or motion sensors. It was the first time he let his guard down, and it was no wonder he got caught. He wishes he could repair the damage he'd caused, just so they'd believe him. He can't let Nightwing suffer any longer.

"_ffucnu dna eitun." _The ropes and shackles disappear, and he sees the team come from down the hallway.

"So are you going to help me?" He asks eagerly.

"Hey calm down. I'm getting there." Mal says.

"So, what's the consensus? Took you long enough to come to it."

Mal clears his throat, "After careful consideration, we've decided to go to Taos, and rescue Nightwing from the Reach."

"YES!" He shouts, smiling broadly, he looks like he could kiss Mal out of sheer joy.

Zatanna rolls her eyes, "Don't get too big headed Wally. It was hardly a unanimous decision, in fact, you got the least amount of yeses needed for us to go along. There's three of us who'd rather not be involved."

"I don't care how the hell you guys got to your decision, I'm just glad you're coming along."

"Hold on Wally." Mal says sternly, "There's more that I haven't told you. You are not a member of the League, so you have no authority over any of us. You are not in charge, and will not be calling the shots. By bringing this mission to us, you've given all control of it to us. That's not to say you won't be involved, I assure you, you will be. But if there's any part of this plan of yours we don't like, we won't go along with it, and think up a suitable alternative. If you don't like this, we'll proceed on the mission, without you."

"I guess I can live with that. I don't really have much choice, do I?"

"No, you don't." Zatanna says.

"Alright, I accept you terms."

"Good. Now enlighten us on this plan you have." Mal commands.

"First step is getting to Taos. I'm in the southern United States looking for people running from the Reach, we call them strays. Billy and Milagro will pose as strays and be sent to a work camp in New Mexico."

"You're going to abduct us?" Billy asks, infuriated.

"Yes. You'll only be working for a few days, it's not a big deal."

"In case you haven't noticed Wally, we're wanted criminals. We'd be killed on the spot if we showed our faces at a Reach work camp."

"You would be, if anyone knew what your faces looked like. The last existing images of you are from at least four years ago, and four years was a growth spurt and a haircut ago. You look completely different now, you're what, twenty and thirteen?"

"Fifteen." Milagro corrects, irritated. Even since she met him, Wally always seemed to get her age wrong, always mistaking her for someone a few years younger.

"Whatever, it's the same difference. All they know is you're a Hispanic teenage girl and a Caucasian young man. That description can fit a lot of people."

"Then might I ask why you are only taking them?" J'onn questions, "I can manipulate my appearance to look like anyone, and I'm sure Zatanna can alter everyone else's appearance with magic."

"No go on that plan. Strays are becoming harder and harder to find, and anything more than a group of two would look incredibly suspicious. And I'm not using you J'onn because I need you for something else."

"Such as?" J'onn asks.

"I'm sending you and La'gaan to Atlantis to find additional people to help us."

"Wha-What?" La'gaan sputters, "You're joking right?"

"No, I'm being completely serious."

"Well, I can tell you how that plan will go right now. Nobody will want to help us, and then we'll be arrested."

"You have to at least try."

"Wally, I don't think you get it. I've been _banned _from Atlantis. If J'onn and I go through with this, we will be arrested for illegal entry into the country, and we won't be allowed to leave until we have a full court hearing, which can take _months."_

"It's been nearly three years since Atlantis closed its borders, I'm sure Aquaman's loosened that restriction somewhat." Wally says in reference to Aquaman's plan to isolate Atlantis from the world in order to avoid the Reach apocalypse.

"Doubt it, I mean, look how well it's working. And it's just _King Orin_ now, he gave up the title Aquaman."

Wally sighs, "There's millions of people in Atlantis, someone's got to be willing to help you. Ask Tempest, or any of your other Conservatory friends."

"I can't go to Atlantis! Neptune's Beard, how many times do I have to say it before it penetrates your incredibly thick skull?"

Wally scoffs, "Oh, I'm the one with the thick skull. Says the guy who isn't even willing to try!"

"Enough, both of you." Mal says, "Wally, what do you want Me, Artemis, and Zatanna to do?"

"You're going to Taos as well, you just can't come with me."

"How do you suppose we get to Taos then?" Zatanna asks.

He shrugs, "I dunno, how do you guys usually get from place to place?"

"Err.. it varies." Mal answers.

"Can Zatanna transport you guys with her magic?"

She shakes her head, "I'm not powerful enough to move myself that far, let alone two other people."

"What about a plane? I know Artemis has a pilot's license."

"Oh yeah, let me go get the luxury fighter jet we just so conveniently happen to keep parked on the roof." Artemis says sarcastically.

Wally rolls his eyes, "I meant have Zatanna conjure up a plane."

"I'm not powerful enough to do that either." Zatanna replies, "And besides, even if I was I wouldn't do it. The last time we flew, we were nearly shot out of the sky. There's way too much risk involved."

"Okay, how about a car?"

"We don't have a car." Mal answers.

"There are hundreds of abandoned cars on the street, just take one."

"We'll run out of fuel, and there aren't exactly any gas stations around."

"So siphon it from other abandoned cars. It's not like there are only abandoned cars in Myrtle Beach."

"Won't a lone moving car on a deserted highway look suspicious?"

"The roads aren't that deserted, you'll blend in fine as long as you don't shout your identities out the window. So it's settled then?"

"No it is not settled!" La'gaan shouts, "In case you haven't noticed, nobody is comfortable with this plan. There are about a million different things that can go wrong!"

"So you have a better idea then? Because I'd love to hear it."

There's a pause as La'gaan tries to think of a suitable alternative. After a minute of thinking, and not finding anything, he begrudgingly shakes his head.

"Billy, Milagro, are you guys comfortable going in undercover?" Mal asks.

"I guess so." Milagro replies unsurely.

"It's not like we have much choice." Billy mutters.

"J'onn, Artemis, Zatanna, what about you guys and your part of the plan?"

"What about-"

Mal frowns, "I know exactly what you're going to say La'gaan."

"It's not ideal." Zatanna says, "But I guess there aren't a whole lot of other options."

"I suppose I'm willing to go along with it." J'onn says.

"Yeah, what they said." Artemis replies.

"Then I guess it's settled."

"Great, then let's get started! Billy, Milagro, you guys can come with me and-"

"Woah, hold on there." Mal says, "You want to start _now_?"

"Uh... yeah." He says simply.

Mal crosses his arms, "We're not going anywhere yet."

"I need to take them now or we might miss this chance."

"You have to take them right this instant?" He questions.

"Yes! Err… I guess I can wait one more day, but not any longer. Every second we wait is another second Nightwing is held captive!"

"If that's the case, then we'll leave first thing tomorrow."

"Tomorrow! You want to wait until tomorrow!"

"Yup. Today's Christmas, and the League's off duty."

"You can celebrate Christmas later, Dick needs us now!"

"Sorry, I promised my team the day off. Besides, we'll need some additional time to plan and gather supplies. We'll be ready to go first thing tomorrow, but now we're going to open presents. You're welcome to join us if you like."

"I-I-I," He sighs, defeated, "Sure, I'll celebrate with you."


	5. Chapter 5

Myrtle Beach

December 26 5:04 EST

It's really early for most of them, and the sun still isn't up yet when they're saying goodbyes. Mal tried to persuade Wally to give them a few more hours rest, but he was hell-bent on starting as early as possible. He wanted them to leave the second Mal found a car and some gas, but Mal was just as determined to not go anywhere until tomorrow.

Wally had tried to enjoy Christmas, but it was obvious to everyone his mind was elsewhere. He wasn't the only one though, J'onn and Milagro, who had both been looking forward to the holiday earlier, now seemed indifferent toward the celebration. The presents, the music, the canned ham they'd scavenged for Christmas dinner, the whole celebration felt subdued. Maybe it was the fact that they had to break for a few hours to find supplies, or maybe it was the looming threat of this dangerous plan hanging over their heads.

"We'll regroup in tomorrow night." Mal announces, "That's about how long it'll take us to drive. J'onn and La'gaan might need an extra day or so."

"If everything goes according to plan-" J'onn starts.

"Which it won't." La'gaan adds.

J'onn frowns and continues, "If everything goes according to plan, there's a zeta tube in Poseidonis that travels directly to the Pacific Ocean. La'gaan, myself, and anyone we find will travel through it and make our way to Taos."

"I guess it's time we go then." Wally says.

Milagro gives each of her teammates a quick hug goodbye before heading towards the glass doors at the lobby's entrance. Billy does the same, though hugging Zatanna for much longer than anyone else.

"Err.. Billy." Wally says.

"Right, sorry." Billy says, releasing Zatanna from their tight embrace. They were in an odd place. Both obviously attracted to the other, but neither willing (or rather, brave enough) to become anything more than friends with benefits. Emphasis on the benefits.

"Be safe okay." She says, planting one last kiss on his cheek before he heads off with Milagro and Wally.

"I will be." He smiles, and with that, the three of them leave.

"I guess it's time we head out too." La'gaan says to J'onn, "We have a long swim ahead of us."

"Yes, you're probably right." And without hugging the rest of the team (neither is big on belabored goodbyes) they walk out the back door, which leads to the beach.

"Well, we should probably get on our way too." Artemis suggests.

Mal yawns, "I dunno. I was thinking maybe we could catch a few more hours of shut eye and then we'd leave."

Artemis frowns "I'll drive the first leg, and lazy bones here can nap in the back seat, as long as you're okay with that Zatanna."

She smiles, "Yeah, I'm already up, so might as well get going. I was gonna call shotgun anyway."

-o-

Reach Facility

December 26 7:14 EST

After two hours of walking, they're about a quarter mile away from the Reach transport facility (or so Wally says.) The trip has been silent and largely uneventful, aside from seeing either a possum or a very large rat scurry across the road. Billy suggested they just fly, or in Wally's case run, so they could get there faster, but Wally said no, without giving them any real reason as to why.

Wally stops them before they can go any further "There's a few things I need to warn you about, before I turn you in."

"Yeah, what are they?" Billy crosses his arms.

"Nothing you wouldn't expect really." Wally explains, "First, you both need to adopt fake identities. New names, birthdays, cities of origin, et cetera et cetera. It's best to think of them now, and let us know what they are so we're prepared when we get there."

"Won't we need some sort of ID to go along with these new identities?" Milagro asks.

"It's helpful, but not required. Lots of people lose their drivers licenses or ID's before they're captured. They'll initially take your word as to who you are, and then run a much more in depth background check later. You'll be long gone before they even get the chance."

"Okay then, um… I'll be Ana Maria Delgado. Age… thirteen."

"Don't use your real age."

She glares at him, "Again, I'm 15. As in. One. Five. And... I'll be born on May 25th, from Los Angeles, California."

"Use somewhere closer to Myrtle Beach. It'll look suspicious if you crossed the entire country."

"Okay, from Miami Florida."

"It'll work. What about you Billy."

He thinks for a moment, "Hmmm Kyle Pine. Born August 2nd age 22, from Daytona Beach, Florida."

"Got that?" Wally asks them. They both nod in agreement.

"Good, second thing," He turns toward Milagro, "I'm going need your ring."

"WHAT?!" She shouts aghast, instinctively clutching her right hand. "That was _NOT _part of the plan!"

"I assure you I won't be keeping it for very long."

"No you won't be!" She snarls.

"Look, if you wear it the Reach will spot it, and you can kiss our cover goodbye."

"And what happens when they spot _you _with it?"

"They won't. They're searching you, not me."

She tugs her ring hesitantly, "Are you sure this is the only option?"

"If there was another one, I wouldn't be asking."

"Okay fine." She breaks down and hands it to him, "But if anything happens to it I swear, I will murder you in your sleep."

"I promise I won't lose it or break it in any way." He says, and pockets the ring, "Third thing, I apologize in advance for any rough treatment, from me. I'm only keeping my cover, it'd look.-"

"We know, we know," Billy finishes for him, "it'd look too suspicious if you didn't treat us like meat."

"I'm not going to treat you like meat; I just might not be as kind as I was yesterday."

"Well we are being abducted. We weren't exactly expecting first class treatment." Milagro mutters.

"Then I guess this is coming as no surprise." Wally says unzipping his backpack. He pulls out two pairs of shiny, silver handcuffs, and two inhibitor collars.

"I get the cuffs, but what are the collars for?" Billy questions.

"They aren't really inhibitor collars, as they won't cancel out any of your powers, not that you have any powers in this form anyway. They're shock collars, and are used to punish you if you break any rules."

"You're not going to actually use those on us, are you?" Milagro asks, concerned.

"Not unless I have to, so don't misbehave. They're painful, trust me. I have more than enough personal experience." They put on the handcuffs and collars without further questions, and walk until they reach their destination.

"Who's there?" A voice cackles over the intercom outside the facility.

"It's Wally. I have two strays I found in Myrtle Beach."

"Very well, We'll let you in, West." There's a loud click and the door opens.

The interior is similar to a very small airport. There's two gates lined with cheap-looking chairs, though only one appears to be in use right now. A few chairs are occupied with several very nervous people, but otherwise, the facility is fairly empty. A facility worker approaches them, holding out some sort of security wand.

"So these are the two strays I take it?" He asks Wally while waving the wand over Milagro.

"Yes. The man's Kyle Pine age 22 from Daytona Beach. The girl's Ana Maria Delgado age 13 from Miami."

"Do they have any identification?"

"No, the man lost his, the girl's too young to have any."

The wand beeps shrilly as it's waved over her chest, "What's around your neck girl?"

She takes out a gold cross pendant from under her shirt, and shows it to the worker, "Just this."

"Any other jewelry I should know about."

"Err… no." She answers. That question seemed oddly suspicious. They couldn't already suspect her, could they? No, she's probably just being paranoid.

"Good. Now, were they traveling together or separately?"

"Together." Wally replies.

"Right, it wouldn't be wise for this young girl to be out all on her own. Tell me Ana Maria, do you have any family you could be with?"

"They're either dead or captured." It isn't a lie. She came home one day over a year ago to find her parents missing. She could only assume they'd been taken away to a work camp. And Jaime, her brother and the former Blue Beetle, had been dead for years.

"And did you know this man when you set off?" He inquires.

"No, we met along the way." She responds.

"And you trusted him?"

"Well, like you said, a thirteen year old girl shouldn't be out all on her own."

The worker jabs her in the stomach with his wand, not amused by her sarcasm. But he determines she doesn't have anything she shouldn't, and searches Billy.

"How about you, have anyone else you could travel with besides this girl."

He shrugs, "My family's dead too." Also true. His Uncle Dudley died from a stroke shortly after he turned 18, and the rest of his family had died long ago as well. "Figured it was better to travel with someone than alone."

"But a teenage girl?" He asks incredulously.

"There aren't many people left, so I can't be too picky. Besides, she's not helpless, she can hold her own. Sometimes I think she's tougher than me."

"You really mean that?" Milagro asks, stunned by the compliment.

Billy smiles, "Course I do."

The Reach worker is hardly moved by their friendship. "Very well, you're clear to enter. The plane taking you to the work camp leaves in approximately seven hours. Don't bother trying to run, the collars will shock you, and you'll be rendered unconscious."

-o-

Atlantic Ocean

December 26 8:55 EST

"We're getting really deep into the ocean, and your form will start shrinking soon because of the pressure." La'gaan warns.

J'onn nods, "Thank you. Are there any other complications from being so far underwater that I should know about?"

"I don't think so, except that it might get colder, and darker."

"Right, I don't mind the cold so much, but I've adjusted my eyes so I can see in the darkness."

La'gaan looks at him and squirms, "You've taken my eyes." He looks like some sort of sea monster created by a mad scientist, with various parts crudely put together to create the perfect underwater creature. He had long arms with webbed fingers, huge gills on the sides of his neck, a scaly, mermaid like tail, and La'gaan's enormous red eyes.

"Yes, I figured you had no problem seeing in near darkness, so I copied. When we reach Poseidonis, I'll resume my normal form, only with gills so I can breathe. I realize I must look freakish to you right now."

"Yeah... freakish is one way of putting it. You'll have to change it before we reach Poseidonis though. We've been making excellent time so far, but there's still no way we'll reach Poseidonis in a day."

"I assume you have plans to stop somewhere tonight?"

"Yeah, a small city-state called Tritonis. It's a bit out of the way, but my friend Blubber lives there, and I can be certain he won't harass us."

"I think you've mentioned him before. Do you think he could help us?"

"Doubtful, he isn't exactly built for living on the land." Blubber, as the name implied, looked more like a whale than a human, though genetically he was just as human as La'gaan or King Orin. "Look, I know Wally said we should look for people to help us with this mission, but I really doubt anyone, even my friends, would want to help."

"What makes you so certain?"

"Well for one thing, it's dangerous. Only a handful of Atlanteans have ventured to the surface world, and three of our most famous surface heroes died there. If that isn't enough motivation to stay underwater, King Orin has banned anyone from going to the surface, for the people's own safety of course. Hardly anyone goes against the King.

"But you did. If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose to stay with us rather than live in Atlantis?"

He thinks for a moment, "I guess, because I knew it wouldn't work."

-o-

Poseidonis

February 17th 19:28 UTC-2

Two years previous

_Atlantean funerals were usually a happy occasion. Loved ones would gather together to remember and celebrate a person's life. There would be music and laughter, and the festivities would go on for several days, ending with the cremation of the body through a spectacular display of underwater fire._

_Queen Mera's funeral however, was not a happy event. There was no laughter, just quiet, and a dark cloud hanging over the festivities. Three days of silent mourning by the entire kingdom for their Queen who had been slaughtered by the Reach. There was no fire, no beautiful lavender flames that sparkled and danced in the water, because there was no point in having them. There was no body to burn. Mera's remains now hung among the wreckage of The Watchtower, along with the other heroes who died before her._

_With the death of their Queen at the hands of the Reach, Atlantean morale was at an all-time low. They were burned out, and simply wanted all this unnecessary bloodshed to end. Which is why today at Mera's funeral services, King Orin declared Atlantis was pulling out of the war, and they would isolate themselves from the rest of the planet._

_La'gaan had to keep King Orin from doing this. They couldn't just stop fighting, they would be destroyed faster than he could snap his fingers. Sure, Atlantis wasn't exactly well known to the surface dwellers, but they'd already attracted the Reach's attention, and that was all that mattered. They came to conquer the entire planet, not just the surface of it. There was absolutely no way the Reach would let them live in peace. He needed to talk his King out of this plan, which is why he was in the Palace, down on his knee, begging to be heard._

_"La'gaan." King Orin smiled patiently, "This grand gesture isn't necessary, you can just tell me what's so important."_

_"I think you're making a mistake sealing off Atlantis." He speaks slowly and confidently, taking care that he doesn't stumble over his words._

_His King's expression tenses, "I should have known this is what you would want to speak with me about. La'gaan, I have to think about what's best for my people. We've lost so many of them already."_

_"We're at war my King. People are going to die. It's not pretty, but that's what happens."_

_"And it's time we get out of this war. I've made negotiations, the Reach have agreed to leave us alone, so long as we keep to ourselves."_

_"And what makes you think the Reach will keep their end of the agreement, huh?" He raises his voice, not caring at all that he's being very disrespectful toward his ruler, "They've been dishonest about everything since the moment they got here, and it's only a matter of time until they go back on their word."_

_"But we have to at least try to make peaceful negotiations. We can't keep fighting on like this."_

_"The Reach doesn't want to make peaceful negotiations! They won't stop until they have our planet in the palm of their hands."_

_"If they go back on their word, and attack Atlantis directly, we'll be prepared for them."_

_"We're not prepared for them now. The Earth's heroes are dying right now trying to fight them off and keep us safe. When, not if, they turn around and come for us, we'll be annihilated." _

_Orin rubs his temples, "My duty as king comes before my duty as Aquaman. I need to think about what's best for Atlantis first. I've been so busy protecting the planet I haven't been protecting my people. My wife, and so many others are dead now because of it. La'gaan I just can't let this go on any longer." _

_"My King, you aren't the only one to lose someone important to the Reach. In case you don't remember, my girlfriend died less than a month ago. Her ship was blown up as she attempted to leave the planet, and I watched helplessly on the ground. We can't run away, we have to face this threat. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to sit back and watch as everything and everyone I love gets destroyed."_

_"Then do what you must. Fight the Reach on the surface, and keep the planet safe. But know that by leaving Atlantis, you are renouncing your citizenship, and you cannot return."_

_"King Orin!" He shouts, "You wouldn't!"_

_"I have no choice. I don't want to, but I have to set an example for the others to follow. By going against my orders, you've betrayed the kingdom, and we have no place for you."_

_"Then I guess this is goodbye." He says, and turns to leave._

_"I wish you luck La'gaan."_

_"Luck's not going to help me now, King Orin."_


	6. Chapter 6

Reach Aircraft

December 26 17:28 CST

Present Day

Billy was expecting to fly to Taos (or Reach Work Facility number 43, as Wally informed them earlier that they weren't supposed to know its exact location) in one of the Reach specialized ships, but instead, they're flying in a Boeing 747. Transporting slaves evidently isn't important enough to bring out the high tech aircrafts. He certainly wasn't complaining, but getting there was going to take a lot longer, and be a lot more turbulent.

"Are you alright?" He asks Milagro, as the plane bumps again. She's looking a bit pale, and is gripping her armrests for dear life.

"Yeah, I just really don't like flying."

"But you fly all the time." He says in a hushed voice.

She glares at him, as if to say _we really shouldn't be talking about this here. _"It's not the flying that I hate, it's the lack of control. I'm in control when I fly, I dictate how fast I go and how high I get. Here, someone else is steering the plane, and not doing a very good job if you ask me."

"We're flying right over a thunderstorm, there's not a whole lot the pilot can do about it."

"Yeah, but the rocky flying isn't the only thing making me nervous. I really, _really _don't trust Wally with my ring." She whispers through gritted teeth.

"I know, I wouldn't either if I was in your position, but what choice do we have?"

"Could have said no to this whole plan."

"You two!" Wally shouts at them, "No talking!"

Billy waits until he's out of earshot, "I can tell you one thing, definitely not gonna get used to him ordering us around anytime soon."

-o-

Tritonis

December 26 19:38 EST

"Is that the City-State your friend lives in?" J'onn asks, pointing toward the cluster of streets and buildings in the distance.

"Yeah, but something looks, wrong, with it. It-it looks…"

"Deserted?" J'onn suggests.

"Destroyed." He says, and as the town becomes more visible, it becomes easy to see he's right. The buildings that haven't already fallen are crumbling, bone and shrapnel litter the ground. "What happened?"

"Purists? Black Manta?" J'onn suggests glumly.

"No, the Reach, I'm sure of it. The weaponry matches."

"The damage looks… old. Eight, nine months, maybe even a year. How long has it been since you've talked to Blubber, or anyone from Atlantis for that matter?"

"Not since I left." Flustered, he sits on the ground, curling into a tight ball, "Neptune's Beard, I can't believe I let this happen. I should have done something. They're all dead now because of me. All of Atlantis is dead because I wasn't here to protect it."

"You're jumping to conclusions La'gaan. This is tragic, but it doesn't mean all of Atlantis was destroyed. Hopefully, most likely, it was just one town. And you and I both know Atlanteans aren't helpless, they are more than capable of defending themselves. You couldn't have singlehandedly saved the city, being here would have only led to your death too."

"Still, I should have done something, now it's too late."

"Maybe you can. We still haven't reached Poseidonis yet, you could talk to King Orin and see what you can do."

La'gaan mulls this over, "Yeah, maybe I can. Come on, let's go!"

"Wait, slow down. You said it yourself, it's impossible to get there in a day. It's late we should rest."

"But we have to keep going!"

"There's no point if we're only going to get tired before we reach the next town."

"You're probably right. First thing in the morning though, we leave."

-o-

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

December 27 3:16 CST

Wally was right that there were plenty of cars still out. Trucks transporting material short distances (too short for it to be flown anyway) passed them regularly, but now that it was night this traffic stopped. They hadn't seen a truck since the sun went down, or anything else for that matter. The only light they had was the cars headlights, which made it very difficult to see. They'd made impressive time in the morning and afternoon, but they'd slowed down significantly at dusk out of fear they'd crash into something.

Mal yawns loudly. He'd been driving since 8 PM yesterday, and he was tired. He'd been trying to keep himself alert and awake with cold coffee from this morning, but it didn't seem to be making a difference.

"Zatanna… Zatanna." He nudges her, but she doesn't stir. She looks like she's sleeping, but Mal knows she's faking it, in hopes that she can get out of driving.

"Well if Zatanna's asleep, I guess she won't mind me playing my Smooth Jazz CDs." He teases, knowing Zatanna hates smooth jazz.

"Mal no." She moans.

"Ha! So you are awake."

"Yeah, unfortunately _someone's _snoring is keeping me up." She nudges her head towards Artemis, who's fast asleep in the backseat. "Mal will you please vouch for me that she snores like a bulldozer? She still doesn't believe me and Milagro when we tell her."

"I most definitely will, if you take over driving for me."

"No... make Artemis do it."

"But I don't wanna wake her up. C'mon Zatanna, I'm dying here, I need to catch some shut eye."

"Okay fine, but you so owe me."

"Thanks, and I'll try not to snore too much either. If Billy's to be believed, I'm probably worse than Artemis." He smiles and stops the car. They both get out and start to walk around the car, but Mal stops short.

"GET DOWN!" He screams, and quickly grabbing Zatanna by the wrist, sprints away from the car. Just a few seconds later, a missile hits their car, and the ground shakes from the explosion. Mal and Zatanna are thrown to the ground.

_"dliehs su"_ A white force field forms around them as more missiles rain down from the sky. Some of them are very close misses, and Zatanna fears her spell might not hold up. They sit there quiet and motionless for what feels like an eternity, waiting for the storm of explosions to stop. When Zatanna is fairly positive the attack has ceased, she takes down the shield.

"That bastard!" Mal curses, "He set us up!"

"We don't know that. There's probably a curfew in place or something, maybe they just shoot at people out past it."

"With a hailstorm of missiles?!"

"It's the Reach, of course they'd try to kill someone breaking their rules!"

"Again, why would they use a fucking hailstorm of missiles to kill some people breaking curfew?"

"I don't know Mal. I just… I really don't want to believe Wally would set us up like this."

"You were all for not believing him a few days ago, why are you having a sudden change of heart _now_?"

"Because of Artemis!" She screams, "Because Artemis was with us, and it's so obvious he still loves her, and he… he wouldn't do anything that would… oh God Mal, Artemis is dead!"

"Is there any chance at all she made it out?" He asks, but he already knows the answer. His only comfort comes from knowing that she didn't feel any pain, and that there aren't any remains for the Reach to collect.

They stay curled low on the ground silently mourning Artemis until the sun starts to rise. Neither is sure what to do, or where to go now.

"You're bleeding." Zatanna finally says, once there's enough light to see the gash on Mal's face.

"Oh, I didn't really notice. We both probably look like hell right now."

"Yeah, what do we do now Mal?" She sighs, sounding completely defeated.

"I guess you can start by healing the cut on my head."

"Right, _laeh us." _Their scrapes and bruises vanish, and their bigger wounds become less pronounced, "I can't completely heal you with magic, but I can make your injuries smaller and less painful."

"That's fine. I err… don't really know what to do now. We have no car, so we're stuck here, and even if we found one, I don't know where to go."

"I guess we should still head to Taos. For Billy and Milagro, of course. We have to get them out of the Reach's hands, if they haven't been killed too."

"They aren't dead Zatanna."

"How can you be sure?" She questions, looking positively terrified.

"I guess I can't be, but Billy and Milagro are the two powerhouses of The Team. It'd be pretty hard to knock them down."

"I'm still worried about them. J'onn and La'gaan too. How are we supposed to communicate with them?"

"We should have planned for that. God, why were we so stupid? Splitting up without any method of communication, it's no wonder we got jumped."

"Look, it's no use cursing ourselves for what we didn't do, let's just keep more bad things from happening. It can't be too hard to find another car. There's one important stop I want to make, but otherwise we'll head straight there."

"Do you think we should look for Artemis before we go?" Mal asks.

Zatanna sighs, "There's no point, we'll only be disappointed when we find nothing."


	7. Chapter 7

Reach Work Facility Number 43

December 27 5:00 MST

"Wake up slaves!" The voice drones over an intercom. It's The Reach's version of an alarm clock, except there's no snooze button.

Billy groans, it is way too early for him to be up.

"Get used to it kid." Says the man that shares the bunk bed with him, Patrick he thought his name was, "This is gonna be the time you wake up every day for the rest of your life."

He tries not to show amusement by this, he's only gonna have to do this for a few days, not the rest of his life, assuming everything works out.

What was he thinking? Of course this will work.

He's told the only time he'll be able to see Milagro (aka Ana Maria) will be during meals. They won't be doing the same work, which makes sense since he's a grown man and she's a teenage girl, but he's still not keen on the idea of them being separated. He sure she feels the same way.

"Ready for a grueling day of work?" Milagro asks with an obviously fake sugary tone as she sits on the bench across from him.

"Uggh… don't remind me. I just want to crawl back into bed and sleep until noon."

She laughs, "I'm right there with you."

Billy coughs as he tries to stomach the oatmeal they're being served, "This stuff tastes disgusting."

A Reach worker smacks the back of his head, hard, "The taste doesn't matter. This oatmeal is enriched with the vitamins and minerals the human body needs to perform the necessary tasks."

"So there's Reach poison in this oatmeal?" Milagro questions.

"It's not poison girl. Simply additives, so you can perform at your best."

She crosses her arms, unamused, "Same thing."

"We're not eating this stuff." Billy says, pushing his bowl away.

The worker shrugs, "Fine then starve, there's more than enough meat around to take your place."

"They'll eat the gruel." Wally says, as he makes his way towards their table. Apparently their argument had garnered some attention, as all the eyes in the room seemed to be fixed on them.

"What business do you have with these slaves?"

"It's my business if my workers aren't eating."

"They're not your workers West. They're slaves, and property of the Reach." He shouts at Wally. Billy and Milagro get the impression that his involvement isn't appreciated by the workers.

"We're not anyone's property." Billy says defiantly. "And we're not eating anything with Reach additives."

Wally narrows his eyes and grits his teeth, "Eat you're gruel and stop drawing attention to yourselves." It sounds harmless enough, but they get the message. If they continue to act out, their covers might be compromised. Scowling, they pick up their spoons and eat.

-o-

Carson City, Nevada

January 5 20:52 MST

One year previous

_Billy stares out the peephole, not sure how to process the face he sees staring back at him. How did he even find them anyway? They'd moved and made sure not to tell him their new location._

_"I know you're there open up!" Wally shouts, banging loudly on the door._

_"What the hell do you want?" He shouts, keeping the door shut and tightly locked. Nobody's getting in, and especially not a traitor like Wally West. Two days ago, he told the Reach their exact location, among other important things, resulting in the murders of both Conner and Zatara._

_"I was hoping I could talk to Artemis."_

_"She doesn't want to talk to you."_

_"I don't think that's up to you to decide."_

_"I didn't decide she doesn't want to talk to you, I know she doesn't. She's furious at you. We're all furious at you. You're lucky I'm the one who answered the door, anyone else on the Team would've beaten your sorry ass just for showing up here."_

_"And here I am at your door, completely vulnerable. Go on, hit me with all the strength of Hercules or whatever. I deserve it."_

_"I don't want to hit you Wally. I just want to understand. Why'd you do it?"_

_"You think I wanted to betray you guys? I didn't have a choice Billy."_

_"Well then, explain how they found our location, or that Milagro was the new Green Lantern, or that J'onn was still alive, or all of our identities, secrets, and plans? Did you tell them our birthdays, favorite colors, and most embarrassing moments too? Years of work down the drain, because you don't seem to know the definition of 'secret'!"_

_"No, I literally didn't have a choice. They invaded my brain probes and machines and forced the information from me. I would never willingly sell you out! You should know that!" He shouts._

_"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. I want to believe you wouldn't willingly cave, but they came, and they killed Conner and Zatara, and would've killed all of us if they didn't sacrifice their lives."_

_"I know and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry about everything. I got cocky, and didn't cover my tracks, it's all my fault I got caught. You guys didn't deserve any of this. I wish they had just punished me. Instead they sucked me dry for information, and left me empty and alive because 'he might still be useful'. I wish they would've just finished me, so I didn't have to live with this guilt." He sounds pitiful. Billy can tell he's being sincere, but he's just not ready to hear it._

_"Look, Wally, I believe you, but I think we all need time to cool our heads, and recover from our losses. We don't want your apologizes, at least not yet."_

_"When should I come back?"_

_"I dunno. A few weeks, maybe months, hell maybe years. Do you want an exact date or something?"_

_"No, I just really want to make things right."_

_"Wally, unless you know a way to bring people back from the dead, I don't think you can do that."_


	8. Chapter 8

Santa Rosa, New Mexico

December 27 9:26 MST

Present Day

Finding another car wasn't difficult at all. Like Myrtle Beach, there were plenty of abandoned ones scattered all over the street. The only problem was they didn't have food, or gas, or any other necessary supplies. Zatanna figured she could magically create anything they needed, but Mal wasn't as sure. He wanted to take some time to gather supplies, but Zatanna insisted that they just leave. She conjured up a small cross to place in Artemis' memory, and after they paid their respects, they were off.

"Err… Zatanna, you missed the exit." Mal points out. She's driving really fast, almost recklessly so, and he's almost certain she's using magic to speed up the car.

"No I didn't."

"Yeah you did. You have to get off at exit 60 so you can get to Taos."

"Right, but we're not going to Taos, at least not yet. I told you there's one stop I want to make before we get there."

"So where are we going?"

"The Watchtower."

Mal gasps, "What do you want to go there for?"

"There's something I need to do. I left something there once, and it's time I retrieved it."

She's talking crazy, Mal's worried, "But Zatanna, you've never been to the wreckage before."

"I have, once. I'll explain when we get there, ok?"

"Alright, but this better be important."

"Trust me, it is."

-o-

Iaera

December 27 13:41 UTC-3

"Neptune's beard!" La'gaan shouts, "It's destroyed."

Iaera was the second city state they'd visited. Like Tritonis, it was a ghost town. The buildings were falling apart, and there wasn't a single soul to be seen.

"Two surrounding cities in ruins doesn't mean all of Atlantis is destroyed. Poseidonis is much stronger than the city states." J'onn reassures him.

"I just want to know how long this has been going on. How long have whole cities been being reduced to rubble without me knowing about it?"

"Probably at the same time cities on the surface were crumbling. If the Atlanteans wanted our help, they would've asked for it."

"But I still should have done something!"

"What could you have done La'gaan?"

"I could have- I should've- I-I." He stutters, trying to think of something he could have done.

"I realize you have an attachment to this place, but realize you alone couldn't have saved these two cities."

"Is that why you and M'gann left to save Mars, because you had an attachment to it?"

"I guess it had something to do with it."

"Did you ever find out if they were really in danger?" La'gaan asks.

"No. My instincts tell me it was just a hoax concocted by The Reach, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were being invaded too. I have no way to go back now, so I guess I'll never know."

-o-

Chicago

January 1 23:16 CST

Two years previous

_"The bioship is prepped and ready. We can leave whenever you want." J'onn says._

_M'gann nods. Two days ago, they received an urgent message from Mars. They were under attack by the Reach and they needed their help. Badly. They'd tried to fight them off, but now half their population was dead, and they were desperate. He and M'gann thought it over, and decided they'd go together._

_The League and the Team respected their decision, though they obviously wished they weren't leaving. Because they would miss them, of course, but also because now there's two less people to defend the Earth. As it is, there are only 18 people left, League and Team combined. They wanted to keep their departure a low-key thing, just the two of them would have been fine, but 14 members (everyone except Wally and Guy) were there to see them off._

_"I'm going to miss you guys so much." M'gann says, wiping a tear from her eye. Returning to Mars was especially painful for her. The planet was never kind to her, and she hardly considered it a home. She knew it was right thing to do though, after all her family still lived there. Her biological family that is, which was more than she could say about Earth. Gar had died two months previous at the hands of the Reach._

_"Angelfish," La'gaan says, holding her tightly, "Let me come with you."_

_She shakes her head, "You can't. The atmosphere would kill you. Besides they still need you here."_

_"Good luck M'gann."_

_"Thanks La'gaan, I promise I'll be back soon, okay?"_

_She lets go._

_They watch from the ship's window as the League and Team wave goodbye. They're just barely able to make out their outlines in the dark._

_"I'm gonna miss them so much." M'gann says._

_"Me too M'gann."_

_"Are you sure we're doing the right thing going back?" She asks with a tone full of worry and concern._

_"If anyone gives you a hard time, they'll have to answer to me. Your mind is by far stronger than mine."_

_"Uncle J'onn, I doubt that's true."_

_"But it is. You have the strongest mind I've ever encountered."_

_She smiles and blushes, humbly accepting praise she didn't think she deserved. _

_And that's when the first missile strikes their ship._

_M'gann clutches her head, "Ahhh… She's hurting! Uncle J'onn we have to do something!"_

_"Try to land her. I don't think we'll be able to stay up much longer." Their ship is spiraling out of control, and it's only a matter of time before she hits something._

_"I can't control her! We're going to have to crash land!"_

_"Incoming!" J'onn shouts, as a second missile speeds toward the ship. It grazes the side wall, and the ship shakes. Smoke and fire flood the insides._

_"We have to get out of here M'gann." J'onn pants, the fire already taking a toll on him. "M'gann!"_

_She's screaming, a piercing high-pitched wail. She's burning, her whole body is engulfed in flames. _

_"Leave me! Save yourself!" She screams._

_He wants to do something for her, but he knows it's too late. Obeying her last orders, he shifts his density and sinks out of the ship. A few seconds later a third missile hits, and the ship, and M'gann are reduced to nothing but ashes. _


	9. Chapter 9

Reach Work Facility number 43

December 27 19:43 MST

Present Day

Milagro Reyes is not a patient girl, in fact, patient is probably the worst word to describe her. Not only is she impatient, she's stubborn, very stubborn, and the two traits don't always meld. Like right now for instance.

Wally still hasn't given back her ring. He said he'd give it back when they'd get to Taos. Well, they'd been here for nearly 2 days, and he still had her power ring. The Reach were done searching her for things she shouldn't have, and even if they searched her again, she'd just sock them with a huge, green boxing glove. She needed it back, and sooner was better than later.

"Hey where can I find foreman West?" She asks another worker, a red haired girl probably right around her age.

"In his office next to the mess hall, but you're not allowed to see him unless he asks for you." She looks at her with a strange mixture of fear and confusion as she answers, like she asked where she could find explosives instead of an office.

"Okay thanks." She says politely, perhaps a bit too polite.

Screw invitations, she's going to see him now.

It takes a few minutes to find his office, mainly because she's still not sure where the mess hall is. There's a small hall of offices next to the exit, and one of the doors has his name etched onto it, so she assumes it's his. She knocks once, then unceremoniously barges in.

She had a long explanation prepared on why Wally should give her back her ring, but she forgets it all when she opens the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" She shouts. He's sitting at his desk with a huge needle poked into the crook of his elbow, injecting himself with some clear liquid.

"I could be asking you the same thing. This is a restricted area kid." He says, annoyed.

"Don't patronize me! At least I'm not doing anything illegal!"

"Actually you are. You're trespassing, which could get you into some serious trouble, _Ana Maria. _And what I'm doing isn't illegal. This drug I'm taking is prescription."

"Tanamaxinine-Six." She whispers.

"I'm guessing Mal told you."

"No Artemis. She also mentioned something about hallucinating while on it."

"Of course she did." He groans, "Tell me, did she mention _why _I was taking it?"

"Err… no." She admits.

"Tanamaxinine-Six is a metabolism inhibitor, and yes, it was created by the Reach. Being a speedster means my metabolism is much higher than the average person, so I need to eat more, a lot more. Well, you've seen the portions they serve here, they're barely enough for a normal person, and I wasn't getting any extra, I was probably getting less come to think of it. In short, I was slowly starving to death.

"Don't think I didn't try to resist it." He says, as Milagro looks like she's going to object, "I did, but when faced with the choice of Reach medicine or death, don't tell me you wouldn't do the same. And when I did choose death, they just forced it into my system."

"Well, what about your powers? If your metabolism is slower, wouldn't you run slower too?"

"The Reach claimed it wouldn't affect them."

"But they did, didn't they?" She finishes.

He sighs, "Yes, but not in the way you're thinking. It's my endurance that got cut, not my speed. I can run as fast as ever, but only for a short time. I used to be able to go at top speed for hours, now I'm lucky if I can even run that fast for 10 minutes."

"So why are you still taking them?"

"What?"

"Why are you still taking them?" She says a bit slower, obviously irritated. "The Reach probably has enough food for you now, you don't need them. They also hinder your speed powers and give you hallucinations. Seems like a good enough reason to stop to me."

"It's not that easy. I've… become addicted to them. Ugh... why do I even need to justify this to you? Your opinion doesn't matter to me anyway."

"Wow, you sure know how to boost someone's morale. What about the rest of the team, huh, do you care about their opinions? Mal's opinion? J'onn's opinion? How about your precious Artemis' opinion? It must sting knowing she doesn't love you back." She knows she's taking this way too far, but she doesn't care. Right now, there's no one she hates more than Wally West.

"Get out." He orders, voice low, as though he's straining to keep from lashing out at her.

"Not until you give me my ring back."

"You'll get it back soon enough. Now leave, and don't ask me about it again." Scowling, he points at the door.

She glares at him, and with an exaggerated huff, she turns and leaves, slamming the door behind her.

-o-

Watchtower wreckage

December 28 10:11 PST

"Wow, just wow."

Mal was at a loss for words. He thought he was prepared to see it, the final resting place for their heroes, his friends, but he wasn't. This place was eerily quiet, so much so that you could hear a pin drop a football field away. There was so much remorse and sadness in the air. Even the very sky seemed to be mourning them. But despite all the horror and grotesqueness of it all, he can't take his eyes away.

"It's horrifying. Truly horrifying." Zatanna breathes.

"I didn't think it was possible for it to be worse than seeing it on TV, but it is. It's so much worse."

"I've only been here once, and I didn't think I would ever have to return."

"Why are we here Zatanna?" He asks.

Zatanna sighs, "Because I haven't been completely honest with you about the Helmet of Fate. It was never destroyed. I'm sorry, but I lied because I didn't think you would approve of what I did with it."

"What did you do with it?" Mal questions.

"This is hard for me to talk about. When- when my Dad died, I didn't want anyone else to ever be possessed by the Helmet, so I hid it where I didn't think anyone would find it. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it was a stupid thing for me to do. I just couldn't let what happened to my Dad happen to anyone else."

"It's okay Zatanna."

"No it isn't!"

"Really it's okay."

"No! Stop saying everything's okay, because it's not. I lied to you guys for my own purely selfish reasons!"

"Zatanna, stop blaming yourself. We all know how much you hated that helmet. If you hadn't hidden it somewhere, we'd probably drag it around with us everywhere, which would only make you feel worse."

"I- I guess you're right. But I still shouldn't have done it."

"You did what you had to. But what I want to know is why you want to retrieve it now?"

"I guess I thought we might want a little extra assistance when we take on the Reach."

His eyes widen, "Zatanna, you're not thinking of wearing that thing, are you?"

"No, I didn't say I would. I just thought it might be a good thing to have. In case we need it."

"We won't need it." He says sternly.

She smiles weakly, "It's still good to have. _Egnahc kcor ot temleh._" A small boulder at her father's feet slowly morphs from rock to gold. Zatanna cautiously walks over to it and picks it up, glaring at it with a look of pure disgust.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Mal asks.

"We came all this way for it, might as well. I guess we get going then?"

"Yeah, can I just have a few minutes though? I want to… pay my respects." He glances sadly at a small body in a black and yellow striped costume. Zatanna notices, and places a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Take all the time you need Mal."


	10. Chapter 10

Watchtower wreckage

August 11 9:58 PDT

Three years previous

_"Is all of this really necessary?" Wally asks. He wearing handcuffs, ankle cuffs, and an inhibitor collar. He can understand them being wary of him, but this seems like overkill. _

_"Of course it's necessary." The Ambassador says to him, sounding so artificially cheerful, "We don't want you to run away now, do we?"_

_"I assure you, I wouldn't go anywhere."_

_"Now that's what I like to hear." The Ambassador messes up his hair playfully, Wally scowls, "But we're not taking any chances. We go live in thirty seconds. Remember, do not speak unless spoken to."_

_He nods, not like he had much to say anyway. He's just going along with their plan, so they hopefully won't suspect anything from him._

_"Welcome citizens of Earth!" The Ambassador booms, the broadcast has obviously started, "and tanks for tuning into tonight's broadcast. Meet our special guest, Wallace West, or as most people call him, Wally. He's 22, from Keystone, Nebraska, graduated from Stanford University summa cum laude. He likes eating, exercising, traveling, and oh, he's Kid Flash, former sidekick of that hero The Flash." Another stagehand roughly places his goggles over his face, in case anyone was still in doubt. _

_"I know what you're thinking, why is this public menace still alive? Well, Wally here bravely surrendered, choosing to serve The Reach rather than be killed, like his mentor and cousin once removed, Impulse."_

_He wants to correct him, tell him Impulse is so much more than a cousin once removed, but refrains._

_"Now Wally, tell all these good people watching at home what you think of the Reach."_

_"The Reach are the saviors of the Earth. I revere them." He lies through his teeth, hoping it's believable._

_"And what should the Justice League do?"_

_"If they were wise, they would join me." His answers are rehearsed, and he says them as convincingly as he can, staring squarely at the camera._

_"Words are just one thing though, will you prove your loyalty with your actions Wally?"_

_"Yes." He doesn't remember being told he'd have to do anything, but he needs to show he's faithful._

_He's unhandcuffed, and handed a syringe, "As an act of loyalty, Wally will now inject Flash and Impulse's bodies with this serum that will keep their bodies preserved forever." _

_Okay, this was definitely not part of the plan. He doesn't want to have any part in the Reach's disgusting ritual of hanging the dead heroes, but he has no choice. Trying not to shake, he injects one syringe in his Uncle Barry's arm, then another in Bart's. When he finishes, he wants to crawl away to a dark corner and never talk to anyone again, but for the media he puts on an indifferent face._

_"There you have it, one of the heroes is most certainly with the Reach now. It would be wise of you others to do the same." And with that ominous message, the broadcast ends._

-o-

Taos

December 28 21:03 MST

Present Day

"Okay, so now we're a quarter mile away from where Wally said the work camp, I guess the only question is now how are we supposed to get in?" Zatanna asks.

"Well we obviously can't drive there, so I'm gonna say we should walk." Mal suggests, so they park their car and walk the rest of the way.

"What are we supposed to do when we get there?" Zatanna asks as the walk.

"What do you mean?" He questions.

"Well, there's got to be some kind of protection surrounding the camp, like a giant fence or something. How are we going to break through it?"

"I really don't think we have to worry about a giant fence, or anything like that. Inhibitor collars keep the workers from breaking out, and I doubt they worry about anyone sneaking in."

"Oh, well that solves one problem. I guess the next step will be finding Wally when we get there."

"He said come at night, which we obviously are, but he didn't give us an actual meeting spot."

"I don't know then. We're a day later than he expected, I hope he doesn't think something happened."

"Again, I don't think we need to worry about that." Mal points off in the distance at two figures walking, no running, towards them. They're wary at first, but as the figures come nearer, they realize it's Billy and Milagro, obviously very excited by their arrival.

"Zatanna!" Billy shouts. He scoops her up and spins her around a few times. "God, it's so great to see you again."

"Err.. it's good you've gotten here." Milagro says, visibly embarrassed by her friends' gushy behavior.

"Good to see you too." Mal laughs, "How've the past few days gone?"

"Ugh… terrible." She groans, "I've never been so sore in my life. The work sucks, the food sucks, and Wally took my ring and _still _hasn't given it back."

"He took your ring?" Mal asks, shocked, "Where is Wally anyway, I'll talk to him."

"I'm coming, I'm just doing so in a way that _doesn't draw attention to myself._" Milagro rolls her eyes at his statement, "She'll get her ring back tomorrow, when we take STAR Labs."

"Tomorrow!" She shouts, shocked. "Shouldn't we wait until J'onn and La'gaan get here?"

"They aren't here yet?" Mal asks, concerned.

"No, they aren't, but they'll probably get here sometime tonight."

"Hey, where's Artemis?" Milagro asks, squinting out into the distance trying to find her.

Mal's expression stiffens and Zatanna abruptly lets go of Billy at the mention of her name. They glance at each other, with a shared look of sadness and guilt. Zatanna takes a deep breath, "On the way here our car was hit by a missile. Artemis… was still inside when it happened."

"Ay Dios mio." Milagro gasps quietly. Billy grabs Zatanna's hand, visibly disturbed by the news. Wally just laughs.

"Very funny guys. Artemis, you can come out now!" He calls out, expecting her to pop out from some bush.

Mal shakes his head, "I'm sorry Wally. It's not a joke. She's gone, Zatanna and I saw it happen."

"NO!" He bites his lip and balls his fists tightly, "This is your fault! You should have done something! You could have saved her!"

"We're just as shaken up about this as you are." Zatanna shouts at him, "If you try to pin blame on someone, all you're going to end up is bitter."

He scoffs, "You know what, I'm going to bed. Come on _Kyle_, _Ana Maria_, you have curfew in five minutes."

"What about La'gaan and J'onn?" Mal calls after them as they walk, in Wally's case storm, back towards camp.

"You guys watch for them!" He shouts.

-o-

When he gets back to his quarters, he slams the door and hurls his shoes at the wall as the takes them off. He's angry at everything right now, and just wants to punch something, preferably the Reach idiot who dropped the missile on Artemis. She couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be. She was too tough to die. Flashbacks of that terrible mission simulation so many years ago cross his mind. He'd hoped he'd never have to experience that in real life. Frustrated, he leans onto a wall, and starts sobbing. He tries to control himself, but the hot, angry tears keep pouring down.

After a while (it could be minutes, it could be hours, he really doesn't know or care.), he finally gets a grip and takes a few calming breaths. He has to keep his head, for Dick's sake. Rescuing him was his top priority, and he can't let all his thoughts focus on Artemis. He has to accept that she's gone, and there's nothing he can do for her now.

As he opens the door to his bedroom, he sees the outline of a person, a woman, sprawled out on his bed "Who's there." He calls.

The figure laughs, a kind, familiar laugh, "I was wondering when you'd get here Baywatch."

"Artemis?" He says, hardly believing the voice he just heard.

"Yeah." She gets up and flings her arms around him, "Oh, I've missed you so much."

"You're here. Mmm… You're alive." He says, when his lips aren't otherwise occupied doing other things. Like kissing her all over her face.

"Yeah, I made it." She coos at him.

"How are you alive? How did you get here?"

"It wasn't easy." She begins, "I just barely made it out of the car before the missile hit. I was still too close though, and it knocked me out for a couple hours, maybe days. When I woke up though, Mal and Zatanna were gone, and I was alone. I tried to find them, but they left without me. I wandered around for a while, tired and hungry, desperate to find you guys. Eventually, I stumbled upon a small, abandoned airport. There was one plane still there, and fortunately for me it still worked."

"Oh God Artemis, I'm so glad you made it. I thought you were dead."

"But I'm not. I'm here for you Wally."

"And I'm so glad you are. The others, let's go tell them you're here." Artemis grabs his wrist as he tries to leave, stopping him from going anywhere.

"No, let's tell them tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to be with you." She grins mischievously, tugging at the hemline of her shirt.

"We can definitely wait until tomorrow. They'll be ecstatic to see you Artemis."

"But not as ecstatic I am to see you." She laughs, that beautiful laugh he can't get enough of. Tonight is going to be a good night after all, and tomorrow is going to be a good day.


	11. Chapter 11

Poseidonis

December 29 8:32 UTC-2

Neither one of them can say they're entirely shocked when they see Poseidonis in ruins. They'd been to a total of six towns before finally arriving here, and all of them were destroyed. The chances that Poseidonis was still the thriving capitol of Atlantis grew slimmer and slimmer with each stop.

"I'm sorry La'gaan." J'onn says reverently.

"It's ok." He's so numb, so rubbed raw from emotion, he can't really feel anything anymore.

"At least it's not as bad as it could be." J'onn says, staring at the city. While there was a great deal of rubble, many of the buildings were still standing, including the palace.

"Yeah it's so great knowing that despite the fact that everyone is dead and most of Atlantis is destroyed, a few buildings in Poseidonis are still standing! Oh happy day!" He quips sarcastically.

"I was only trying to be optimistic."

"I know, I'm sorry I jumped at you like that. But I hate this! Neptune's beard, I really, really hate this!" He shouts, and kicks a small piece of debris.

"Something seems off though, about this place." J'onn says, wondering to himself.

"What is it?" La'gaan asks.

"There aren't very many err… remains. All the other cities had hundreds skeletons lying on the streets, but here, there's barely anything. I imagine Poseidonis had a larger population than the other city-states, so it doesn't make sense."

"Maybe they're alive. Maybe there's an underwater work camp or something. Maybe they're still here, hiding in the palace!" His imagination runs wild with ideas of where they could be, and he feels happy for the first time since he started this trip. He starts to swim towards the palace entrance, but J'onn stops him.

"La'gaan, are you sure it's a good idea to go in there?" He asks.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, it could be a trap, or the building might be structurally unstable. There's hundreds of reasons going in there might be a bad idea."

"Have any other suggestions on what to do? If so, I'd love to hear them."

"I guess not." He says, and the two enter the palace. The inside is still in relatively good condition, the walls and ceiling are intact, the paint isn't chipping, and it still looks like a palace fit for a king. However, almost all of the furniture is gone. Everything from valuable Atlantean art to the inexpensive cleaning supplies are missing. The only things left are what was attached to the palace or too heavy to move.

"Looters, how dare they steal from our King." La'gaan frowns, then smiles, "Wait looters! That must mean people are alive!"

"It could have been the Reach that took the possessions."

"The Reach don't steal, they destroy. No, it had to be looters. Someone's been here, I'm sure of it. Hey what was that?" La'gaan whips his head around towards the end of the corridor.

"What was what?" J'onn asks.

"I thought I saw someone." He answers, and swims toward where he saw the shadow. "_Who's there_?" He calls in Atlantean.

"La'gaan, there isn't anyone here."

"No, I'm sure I saw someone. _I know you're here. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is La'gaan, and I'm here to help." _

A small figure slowly appears from behind a corner. A young boy, no more than seven, with large gills and brown skin that make him look like a young version of Kaldur'ahm.

_"Hey there, what's your name?" _La'gaan asks.

_"Torino'i." _He responds quietly.

_"And what are you doing here Torino'i?" _

_"I was looking for food."_

_"Oh, you must be hungry." _La'gaan reaches into his backpack and pulls out a granola bar. He and J'onn had packed far more food than they needed. _"Here, have this, it's good."_

The child tentatively takes the granola bar from La'gaan's hand, and eats it. First taking a small bite, then practically swallowing the thing whole, as though he hadn't eaten in days.

La'gaan laughs, _"You liked that, didn't you?"_

Torino'i nods, _"Yes thank you."_

_"You're welcome. Torino'i, this is my friend J'onn. He's on a special mission to fight the invasion. We're going to send him to the Pacific Ocean. Do you want to help?" _Torino'i nods.

"Are you no longer coming with me?" J'onn asks.

"No, I'm going to stay here. If there's one person alive, there has to be others, and I'm going to find them."

"Then I support you decision, but I can't stay here with you."

"I didn't expect you to. This place is my home, not yours. They still need you on the surface.

"Yes, is the zeta tube still here?" J'onn asks.

"I would think so, it's big, and not a very easy thing to steal. _Follow me._" He scoops up Torino'i, and swims to where the zeta tube is kept. Fortunately it's still there, and appears to be operational.

"I'll set it up so you can go to the Pacific, you'll be about a half mile off the coast of Los Angeles."

"Actually I was wondering, is it possible for this machine to take me other places."

"I suppose so, but there's no guarantee it will work. Although, there isn't really a guarantee the Pacific Ocean end will work either. Where do you want to go?"

"Colorado Springs. There's someone there who I think can help us out. I can't believe Wally didn't think of him."

"Let's see what I can do." He punches some numbers into the machine, "It should work, assuming the Colorado Springs zeta tube is still operational."

"Thank you." He steps into the portal, "Good luck La'gaan."

"You too. And remember, if you ever need anything, Atlantis is there."

He nods, "I will."

_"Torino'i, press that big red button, and it'll send J'onn to where he needs to go."_

-o-

Reach Work Facility number 43

December 29 6:32 MST

"Artemis… Artemis…" He whispers, shaking her shoulder gently, "time to get up."

She groans softly, "Five more minutes please."

He laughs, "What happened to Miss 'I get up at 4 AM for shits and giggles'?"

"She didn't fly an airplane in the middle of the night." she grumbles.

He smiles, "Alright babe, I need to go get the others. It'll take me ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Be ready when I get back, okay?"

"Sounds good to me." She rolls over and starts snoring loudly again. He never thought he'd say it, but he actually misses her snore. He pecks her on the cheek before running back to the camp. With any luck, J'onn and La'gaan will be there waiting.

-o-

Mal and Zatanna had been sleeping shifts. One would rest in a ditch, the other would patrol around, looking for any sign of La'gaan or J'onn.

"Have they arrived?" Wally asks Zatanna, it's her shift.

She shakes her head, "Haven't seen them."

"Damn." He curses under his breath.

"Hey, maybe they're here, but we just haven't found them." She suggests, knowing there's a lot of ground she hadn't covered.

"Doubt it." He sighs, "I guess we're going to have to go on without them."

"Wally, I really don't like the idea of going in without them, and I'm sure the others would agree with me."

"Nightwing's in danger, we don't have time to wait for them. Where's Mal?"

"Sleeping," She points to the ditch Mal's resting in a short distance away, "I'll go get him."

"He was supposed to be watching for J'onn and La'gaan with you."

"We were watching in shifts, did you really expect us both to stay up all night?" She yawns, "I don't think I've been properly rested since Christmas."

"I guess that was good thinking, but it wasn't smart to leave him alone for so long."

"Did you want me to watch for J'onn and La'gaan, or keep an eye on Mal sleeping? I can't do both you know?" She disappears behind the ditch momentarily, and emerges with a sleepy looking Mal.

"Come on Sleeping Beauty," Wally calls at him, "I need to excuse Billy and Milagro from work, and it's best we do that sooner rather than later."

"Is it difficult to excuse them or something?" Mal asks.

"Not really. The Reach just get a bit err… agitated if I try to take someone out after they've been working for a while. Actually, they get agitated if I ask for anyone at all. Wait here." He says to them, and runs back into the camp.

"I need workers Kyle Pine and Ana Maria Delgado, designation 6754A and 6755C." He says to the guard when he arrives.

"What for?" The guard asks irritated, narrowing his eyes, and increasing the grip on his staff.

"Routine physical examination." It was a legitimate excuse, all workers needed them.

"Can it wait until after their shifts end, or tomorrow?"

"No. They're new workers, and haven't had any examinations done yet. I need the documentation that they're healthy and able to work as soon as possible."

The guard groans, and says to a man next to him, "Fetch me 6754A and 6755C for a physical." A few minutes later, they return, each dragging each worker by the wrist. Their expressions visibly soften upon when they see Wally.

"Don't get too excited, this isn't some get out of work free-for-all." The guard says sternly, "You better report back here right when the examination finishes, no dawdling."

They both nod, though they know they're definitely not obeying his order, which suits them just fine.

Milagro waits until they're out of earshot to speak, "Oh thank God it's you. I was terrified our cover was-"

Wally shushes her, "Not yet, wait until we're all the out of the camp."

"Why are we going this way?" Billy asks, "Aren't the others-"

"Your physical examinations will take place in the medical office, which happens to be in this direction."

"But-"

"I can't just parade you out the door. Among other things, the collars will kill you."

"How do we get things off anyway?" Milagro asks.

"I'll take care of them." He takes a key ring out of his pocket, and flicks through it until he finds the key he's looking for. "I have a master key. Once I unlock your collars, run." They do as he says, and sprint away as their collars are removed.

Can I get my ring back now please?" Milagro begs once there well away from the camp.

"Hold your horses, I promised you'd get it today, you'll get it today."

"You better give it to her soon." Mal says, as they head towards them, "If I knew you were going to be taking her ring for safekeeping, I might've rethought this part of the plan."

"Don't worry Mal, I have her ring right here." He takes it out of his pocket. "Here you go kid."

She squees, and puts the ring on her finger, "Bout time I got it back." She flies around doing flips and somersaults in the air. She's about to shoot of green fireworks with her ring when Wally stops her.

"Don't draw attention to us!" He hisses.

"So, did La'gaan and J'onn come last night?" Billy asks.

Zatanna shakes her head, "No sign of them."

"And we're still doing this without them?" Billy shakes his head, "That's so dumb."

"We can't afford to wait any longer."

"We can't afford to do this down two people either."

"Actually we're only down one person." Wally can barely contain his excitement, "Artemis is alive, she showed up last night!"

There's a collective gasp. Billy and Milagro are awestruck. Mal and Zatanna are incredibly shocked, and almost doubtful he's telling the truth.

"H-how?" Zatanna asks.

Wally launches into an explanation about her arrival, the others listen as he retells her story. "She's here, right now! I'll go get her, she's so excited to see you all again!"

"Um… was there an abandoned airport anywhere near you guys?" Wally hears Billy ask as he runs back to his quarters to fetch Artemis. They'll see in a few minutes, she's alive and kicking, it'll knock their skeptical looks right off their faces.

When he gets back she's in her old, green uniform, tying her hair back into her usual ponytail. He hasn't seen her wear that outfit in years.

"You look incredible." He tells her, admiring

She laughs, "What, this old thing? I'm happy you like it. Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah, the others are going to be so glad to see you. They could hardly believe it when I told them the news." He shuts the door and leaves his quarters, hopefully for the last time. After he rescues Dick, he's never coming back to this place.

"I can't wait to see them too!" She beams.

He sees the others having what looks to be a heated discussion, but doesn't really care what it's about. The gangs all here (well, almost all here), and it's time to about their plan.

"So where's STAR Labs from here?" Zatanna asks as they rejoin them.

"About six miles northwest of here. We should probably head there soon, but first why don't you guys say hi to Arte-" He frowns, as Billy interrupts him before he can finish.

"SHAZAM!" With a flash of bright light, he transforms into Captain Marvel. "Race you." He says playfully to them and flies northwest.

Zatanna smirks, "Oh you are so on. _Etativel!"_

"Hey, wait for us!" Milagro scoops up Mal on a green disk and chases after them.

Wally rolls his eyes, "So much for traveling together."

"You better head after them. I don't wanna be stuck with the slow partner." Artemis says sarcastically.

Wally picks her up bridal style, "Slow? You're calling me, the fastest man alive, _slow_?"

"Well, we're losing now aren't we?"

"Not if I can help it." He laughs, and races after them.


	12. Chapter 12

Colorado Springs

December 29 6:49 MST

To be honest, he's shocked that the zeta tube still works, but time is of the essence, and he doesn't have time to stop and marvel at his good fortune.

The Colorado Springs work camp is slightly different than the others. Here, people of old age come to work, living their last days in a sort of retirement. They still worked, but did gentler tasks, that didn't require as much physical effort on their parts. But J'onn knows that even though someone is old in age, they can do much more than easy repetitive tasks. (He should know, after all he's 144 Earth years old)

He hopes the man he wants to see is here. The trip isn't completely wasted if he isn't though, Colorado Springs is much closer to Taos than the original zeta platform. He takes the form of an elderly man in a work uniform, and tries to blend in.

"Excuse me," He asks one of the workers, "could you tell me where I could find Jay Garrick?"

"Uh… sure. It's that building right there." She points toward an apartment complex to his right. She looks confused; perhaps he asked a strange question.

"Thank you." He nods and walks off. The complex has a directory on the outside, he reads through it until he finds the Garricks, room 4E. He climbs the stairs and hopes Jay's home. If he's not, J'onn has no idea how he can find him.

"Is someone there?" A man asks after he knocks on the door, the voice sure sounds a lot like Jay.

"Yes, my name is John Jones and I'd like to speak to Jay."

The door opens, and Jay smirks, "Well I'll be, come on in _John Jones." _

J'onn enters and closes the door behind him, "Jay, I-"

He laughs, "I've been waiting for you guys to show up. Where do you need me J'onn?"

J'onn's taken slightly aback, "How did you know I was going to ask you to assist us?"

"Well, I guess you could've just stopped in to say hello, but I doubt you would've wasted a trip just for that."

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm only here to ask for assistance, but it is good to see you again. Perhaps under different circumstances, we could catch up. So, are you willing to help us?"

Jay turns to his wife, who's sitting on the couch listening to their conversation. She purses her lips and sighs. "Do what you have to."

He grins, "Thanks sweetheart. What do you need me to do?"

"I'm on a rescue mission. We're headed to a city called Taos. It's about 200 miles south of here, are you up for it?"

He laughs, "200 miles, that's nothing. Just get this damn collar off me and we're good to go."

"Let's see what I can do." J'onn says, and uses all his brain power to telepathically tears the collar in half. "Good thing this is just an ordinary collar, if it was an inhibitor collar, I wouldn't be able to do that."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I never told them I was The Flash. Speaking of which-" He walks over to his closet and pulls out a hatbox.

Joan sighs and shakes her head, "Oh Lord, not the tin hat."

"Wouldn't be complete without it. I guess we'll be off then." He kisses Joan on the cheek as he goes, "I'll see you soon. Now lead the way J'onn."

J'onn transforms into a small parakeet, and perches himself on Jay's shoulder. _"I'll guide you telepathically. Start by heading south."_

-o-

Taos

December 29 7:03 MST

The STAR Labs facility didn't look abandoned. No, run down would be a more accurate way to describe it. It looked like the building was still being used, but whoever was using it wasn't taking very good care of it.

"Are you sure he's here Wally?" Billy asks.

"Do you think my answer's changed since the last time one of you asked me?"

"Well, you don't have to be rude about it."

Wally bites his lip, "I was trying to be funny."

Artemis gives a small giggle, but he knows she's only doing it to be nice, the rest just stare at him blankly.

"Uh… anyway, do you know where in the building Nightwing is?" Mal asks, trying to stay focused on the task at hand.

"The basement." He says confidently, "Nightwing said they were keeping him underground, so I assume that means the basement."

"Okay, do you know _where _in the basement?"

"Err… no, but it can't be too hard to find him can it?"

"Wally, do you know how big STAR Labs is?" Zatanna asks. "Well let me tell you, it's huge, and there's tons of hidden tunnels and passages. They probably have him hidden pretty deep in."

"Sounds like Cadmus." He says to no one in particular. None of them were there for Cadmus, the team's first mission, so they probably wouldn't know what he meant. In a way, this mission was kind of similar, though this time they were better prepared and organized. "Look, I'm sure we'll manage to find our way. Even if he told me 'I'm in this room' we'd probably still have to search for it."

"Where Nightwing's being held isn't our top priority right now anyway." Mal starts, "Our goal is getting in, and I imagine we can't just walk through the front door. I suggest trying to find a side or back entrance. The roof sounds like a pretty good bet too."

"I'll try and find something." Milagro volunteers, and quietly flies around the building. A few minutes later she returns.

"I didn't see anything on the roof, but there's a delivery bay in the back that seems like a pretty good bet. It looks locked tight, but I can probably pry it open and shut without leaving any evidence we were there."

"Point us in the right direction." Mal says.

"This way then." She flies off, slow enough for people to follow, towards the right of the building. They silently follow behind, until they reach a large, silver garage door.

Milagro forms a giant green jack screw and shimmies it under the door. She cranks the lever gets it about three feet up when a small fleet of guards storm them from behind.

"Intruders!" They shout, firing off lasers at them.

They whip into action. Captain Marvel flies at them and punches one with all his strength, causing him to crumble to the ground unconscious. Mal runs at them, blocking the lasers with his shield. They team up to take the rest of the guards. With their combined efforts, the guards are down in less than a minute.

"Well that was easy." Captain Marvel says, rubbing his hands together in a job well done.

"Don't speak so soon." Zatanna says glumly, pointing at a fast moving mass headed towards them. There's another fleet coming, this one much bigger and much more dangerous looking. Artemis fires a few arrows at them, but they have virtually no effect, they just keep charging their way.

"Oh shit." Wally mutters.

"Uhh… guys," Milagro starts, "Do you guys want me to keep this door open or what?"

"Right, Artemis, Mal, you guys come with me." Wally states.

"It's not your place to be giving orders Wally!" Zatanna shouts.

"It's fine." Mal says, "That's what I would have said anyway. You guys okay out here?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Great! Come on!" They slip under the door, hoping the guards haven't noticed anyone broke in yet. Milagro, Billy, and Zatanna will provide a distraction while they try to find Nightwing.

Milagro lowers the door after they're in. She constructs a huge catapult, and smiling mischievously, hurls heavy, green boulders at the guards. "Doing that never gets old." She laughs.

"_eci dnuorg." _Zatanna chants, and the ground becomes cold and slippery, several of the guards are thrown off balance and fall. The temporary slip up is all the three of them need to charge at them. Milagro creates huge fists to aid in her punches. Captain Marvel needs no assistance for his hits to hurt. Zatanna aims for the weapons, shouting spells to make them hot or cold, or just completely destroy them altogether. Their fight fiercely, but it seems no matter how many guards they take out, there's five more waiting to replace them. The crowd of guards actually seems to be bigger now then it was at the start of this mess.

"We need to do something big!" Captain shouts, "That'll affect more than one of them at a time."

"Lemme try something." Milagro makes an enormous shovel, picking up masses of guards and flinging them every which way.

"_elohknis!" _The ground opens up and swallows all the guards, but before they can celebrate, more of them appear.

"Damn it!" Zatanna curses, "How many of these guys are there?" On top of the new guards coming in, the guards flung away by Milagro are returning, and some of the ones that fell in the sinkhole are slowly crawling back up.

"I can do this all day." Milagro cries, and proceeds to knock more guards down with an enormous, green bazooka gun.

"I'm right there with you Milagro!" Captain Marvel shouts, bashing the heads of two guards together, "This is the kind of thing I live for!" He smiles broadly.

Zatanna smirks, "Don't get me wrong, I love kicking some serious ass, but it's like these guys are multiplying. I really want to know where these guys... oww!" She shrieks, one of the guards hits her square in the stomach, opening up a fist-sized gash. Breathing heavy, she grits her teeth and clutches her stomach.

"Zatanna!" Billy cries and rushes to her side. "Zatanna, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, really." She says as she collapses. There's crimson on her sleeves.

Milagro puts up a sturdy wall, shielding them from any incoming hits, "You obviously aren't. Can you heal yourself?"

"_laeh flesym." _She says feebly. The wound shrinks ever so slightly, but not enough to make much of a difference. "I can do minor wounds, but I don't think I'm powerful enough to fix this. Don't worry about me though, right now you have bigger problems."

"Zatanna's right, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to hold this wall up for."

"You guys keep fighting. I'll be okay."

Billy softly strokes her hair, "I know you will be."

She smiles, and watches him fly back off to the battle. _"ldeihs em." _A white, translucent dome forms around her, hopefully strong enough to keep out any more attacks. Her only job now it to keep the dome up, but a small part of her doesn't think she'll be strong enough.

-o-

"Turn left here." Artemis shouts. She's leading the way as they zigzag through the corridors. It seems like she knows where she's going, which is fine by Wally, he doesn't have a clue.

"Now take the stairs down!" He obeys, and Mal follows behind.

"Wally are you sure you know where you're going?" Mal asks. "It seems like we're going in circles."

"We're not going in circles." Wally says.

"No, I'm sure we've been here before." Mal says

"This place is huge, it just looks like we've been here before." Artemis points out.

"Yeah, what she said." Wally adds.

"Wait what?" Mal asks.

"Turn here." Artemis says, and quickly changes directions and turns down another long hallway.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Mal heaves a heavy sigh.

"Wait fall back! Fall back!" She orders.

"What's going on?" Wally asks.

"I could ask the same question." Mal mumbles.

"Do you hear that?" She asks.

Wally stares at her, puzzled, "Hear what?"

She strings her bow, "The guards, they've spotted us!" He turns around and she's right, there's three or four of them running down each end the hall. "I'll take the ones on the left, you on the right."

"Sounds like a plan." He charges at the guards knocking them to their feet, and then delivers a few swift punches to ensure they're properly knocked out.

"AHHHH!" Wally whips his head around as he hears Mal scream. The guards zapped him with an electrically charged staff.

"Mal!" he cries. Wally knows he's a goner before he even hits the ground. There's no way any human could stand that much electricity, he should know.

He takes out the other guards and rushes over to Mal, but there's nothing he can do. "Artemis he was standing right next to you! How could you let him get killed? Artemis, _Artemis?!" _He looks around, but she's nowhere to be seen. Here one second, gone the next. It's like she just vanished into thin air.


	13. Chapter 13

As much as Zatanna wants to be positive, she knows it's only a matter of time until she bleeds out. She's lost so much blood already, and she's starting to feel a bit faint. The fighting just keeps going on, it doesn't seem like it'll ever end. She wishes there was something she could do, besides lie on the ground and bleed.

Maybe there is something she can do. The Helmet of Fate, it would give her plenty of strength, probably enough to wipe out all the guards, but is it worth the risk? She could be enslaved to it the rest of her life.

Then again, with the gash on her stomach, her life probably won't be very long.

-o-

"Hey Billy, who's that?" Milagro points at a figure running towards them. It's obviously not one of the guards, but she can't be certain they're friendly either.

"I don't know, but I'm sure I've seen that goofy hat somewhere before." He gasps, "I don't believe it, it's Flash."

"Okay, I know I'm sometimes out of the loop, but I'm pretty sure Flash is dead." Milagro says, as she bashes a few guards over with a baseball bat.

"No, no, the original Flash."

"I thought the Flash was the original Flash."

"You need to do your homework then." Jay smiles and tips his hat, "Jay Garrick, the original Flash."

Milagro blushes, "Milagro Reyes, current Green Lantern."

"Can we do introductions later?" Billy asks, as three guards throw themselves on his back.

"Right, sorry." Milagro says, creating a huge pair of pliers to pull them off.

"I have a surprise for you guys." Jay nods at the bird on his shoulder, which flies off and transforms back into Martian Manhunter.

"J'onn!" They cry, both ecstatic that he's here.

"It's good to see you too."

"Wait, where's La'gaan?" Milagro asks, worried, "He's not dead, is he?"

"No, of course not. He's alive, but he's chosen to stay in Atlantis."

"So they let him back in?"

"Eh… it's complicated. I'll explain later. What about the rest of you? Are you alright?"

"Somewhat. Mal and Wally are inside. Artemis… is complicated, we'll explain later, and Zatanna was injured, she's over there... wait where'd she go?" The space Zatanna was resting on is now an empty patch of grass.

"Zatanna, Noooo!" Billy cries. Milagro wonders what the fuss is about, and turns to see Zatanna donning the Helmet of Fate.

"Zatanna what are you doing?" She screams.

"What I should have done to start with." She says, Milagro shivers at the sound of her voice, deepened and amplified by the helmet. She sends a golden beam of light down on the guards. The whole fleet is knocked down almost instantly. The others watch fearfully as she takes them down.

-o-

"Artemis, Artemis. Where are you?" Wally calls. He can't find her anywhere, is it possible some of the guards took her? Oh God, what if they're going to experiment on her like they did with Dick?

He has to find them both, before something terrible happens.

There's an unmarked door at the end of the corridor. All the other doors have some sort of label on them, Lab 10, Test Chamber 6, Faculty lounge, etc., but this one is suspiciously blank. He takes it as a sign that something's there, and opens the door.

The room turns out to be nothing special though, just an office. There's a few filing cabinets, an ugly looking painting of a sailboat, and a large oak desk. Artemis sits on top of it, pursing her lips and studying her nails.

"He's not here you know." She says matter-of-factly, not looking up at him.

"Artemis?" He questions, not believing it's her at first, "What are you doing here? How could you just run off like that. Mal's dead because of you!"

She looks at him and smirks "I'm not the one responsible for Mal's death. And he's not here."

"Who's not here?" He asks, exasperated.

"Dick."

"What?" He gasps quietly, then clears his throat, "You-you mean like not in this room or this wing?"

"No, I mean not here at all." She hops off the desk and walks over to him, her body just inches away from his. "He's dead Wally."

"No! He can't be!" He shouts.

"He died nearly four years ago, alongside Robin, and Batgirl. There was no body, and that's why he isn't there. That's why he's not in the Hanging Garden with all the others."

"Don't call it that!" Hanging Garden was what the Reach called the Watchtower's wreckage, it was incredibly disrespectful. "And he isn't dead! I saw him, I talked to him!"

"It was a hallucination. You only thought you saw him. You only thought you talked to him."

"No, it was real. It felt so real."

"He's not here, he's not real. And neither am I."

His heart sinks, she can't be serious. "No!" He takes his hand and gently caresses her face, "You have to be real, I can touch you. I can feel you."

She shakes her head, "No, the real Artemis is dead. I'm just an illusion you made to mimic her. You wanted her alive, and you wanted her to love you, so you created me."

"But you are her. You have to be!"

"No I'm not. I'm just a hallucination. Goodbye Wally." She kisses his cheek and slowly fades away.

"Artemis, don't leave me. Don't leave me alone." But it's too late, she's gone. In a combination of shock, anger, and guilt, he falls to his knees, and buries his face in his hands. Dick is dead. Artemis is dead. Mal is dead. Conner and Zatara are dead. Billy, J'onn, Zatanna, La'gaan, and Milagro are all probably dead too. And it's entirely his fault.

The door barges open. Guards storm in, shooting lasers and beams of electricity in every direction. He runs fast as he can, trying to dodge them.

Wally flings his body at one of the guards, knocking him down. He steals his weapon, and fires it off wildly as he runs through the room. A few more guards fall, enough that he can escape the office and run down the hall. He thinks he's clear when he feels it, an intense burning sensation in his back. Shrieking in pain, he collapses. No, He's not going to die today. He can't die today.

His eyes close.

_Earlier_

_"Um… was there an abandoned airport anywhere near you guys?" Billy asks as Wally runs off._

_Mal shakes his head, "No, and even if there was, there's no way Artemis would've reached it. As much as I hate to say it, she's definitely dead."_

_"Mal and I had only seconds to dodge the missile, we barely had enough time to save ourselves. Artemis was asleep in the back, there wasn't time to save her." Zatanna adds. _

_"We don't blame you." Billy reassures her, "I just wonder, how is Wally seeing her if she's dead?"_

_"It's a hallucination!" Milagro shouts, "He's still taking_ _Tanamaxinine-Six! I saw him injecting it."_

_"Well that explains a lot." Mal mutters, "Do you think it's possible Nightwing's an illusion to?"_

_"It's possible, but we can't be sure." Billy says. "We're already here, we've been prepping for days to do this. I think we should go through with it."_

_"But should we should tell Wally Artemis isn't real?" Milagro asks._

_"We probably should." Zatanna says. _

_Mal shakes his head, "No, he won't believe us and he'll get angry. Besides, there's really no harm in him believing she's there."_


	14. Chapter 14

Taos

December 29 8:19 MST

"I think that's the last of them." Captain Marvel shouts triumphantly. The ground is littered with knocked out guards, there must have taken out hundreds of them.

Milagro wipes the sweat from her brow, "That was intense, I'm _exhausted."_

"Wanna do it again sometime?" Captain Marvel asks.

"Oh hell yeah!" She shouts, and makes a huge hand to high-5 Captain Marvel.

"That's what I like to hear." He laughs, "What about you Jay? How are you holding up?"

Jay gives him a thumbs up, "Doing great. Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm helpless."

"Never said it did." He chuckles.

"Zatanna!" J'onn shouts. She's falling. She'd done an amazing job taking out the guards, it was probably thanks to her they weren't all dead, but her wound has finally taken it's toll. Even as the powerful Dr. Fate, she doesn't have the strength to stay up. J'onn catches her and lays her gently on the ground. He remover her helmet, and her clothes transform back to normal. Then it becomes apparent the wound has only gotten worse.

"Is she alright?" Milagro asks, full of concern for her friend.

J'onn looks glum, "She's alive, but only barely. It doesn't look good though, Nabu wouldn't have released her if he thought she would live."

"Is there anything we can do?" Jay asks.

"She needs serious medical attention. I could try and heal her, but I'd need proper medical equipment."

"Maybe they have some in the lab?" Milagro suggests.

"Yeah, and we need to find go in there to find Wally and Mal, and maybe Nightwing too. We should look for some medical supplies." Billy says.

"Sounds good. Milagro, if you would."

"Right." She jacks the door open, just like she did earlier, though this time she isn't interrupted.

"I'll take her." Captain Marvel says to J'onn, and gently picks up Zatanna.

"Thank you. Be careful though." J'onn warns. "There might still be some guards inside."

"We will be." Milagro replies.

I'm going to try and contact Wally and Mal telepathically." J'onn states, "_Wally, Mal, where are you? Wally? Mal?"_

"Any luck?" Jay asks. J'onn shakes his head.

"What does that mean?" Milagro asks, looking worried.

"It could mean a lot of things, but mostly that we're going to have to search the entire facility to find them. I've set you all up on a psychic link, we'll split up and try to locate them."

"Wally said Nightwing was in the basement, so I'm guessing they went downstairs." Milagro suggests. They look around until they find a staircase, and take it all the way down. The basement is cold and dimly lit, but they can see a small directory.

"Medical lab, there might be some equipment to save Zatanna!" Captain Marvel says.

"We'll go this way, you two try the other way."

"Will do." Jay says, "Let us know if you find anything." J'onn, Captain Marvel, and Zatanna go left, Jay and Milagro go right.

"Sorry I'm just running into this, do you have any idea where your friend can be in this huge facility?" Jay asks.

"I wish, but to be honest, I'm not even sure he's here." She explains the hallucinations Wally's been seeing lately.

He rubs his chin, "So he's definitely been seeing his dead girlfriend."

"Yup."

"And she died recently right?"

"Yup."

"Hmmm… Something doesn't add up here."

"What?" Milagro asks.

"Wally probably created Artemis as a coping method. He couldn't deal with the fact that she was dead, so he saw hallucinations of her. But Nigtwing died years ago, why would he all of the sudden be seeing him?"

"I hadn't thought of it that way. I guess you could be right." She says. "But first we have to find Wally and Mal. We know they're in here somewhere."

"Does that belong to one of them?" Jay asks, pointing at black glove lying on the ground.

"Ay Dios mio, that looks like one of Mal's. He's the only one I know who has hands big enough to wear that. But where's Mal? He's too careful to just accidentally drop his glove. Something had to have happened to him."

"We don't know that for sure Milagro." Jay reassures her, "Don't let your mind jump to the negative."

_"J'onn we found Mal's glove, no sign of Mal though." _Milagro thinks.

_"Good to know," _J'onn replies, _"We've found a few supplies, and I'm going to attempt to heal Zatanna."_

_"Good luck." _They both tell him.

-o-

"Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help you heal her?" Billy asks.

"Not unless you know her blood type."

"Uh… no."

"Well, you will be of much more use guarding the door than helping me with the procedure."

"But-"

"Billy, I know she means a lot to you, but I need complete concentration."

"Right, keep me updated okay?" Billy says, and quietly closes the door behind him.

J'onn checks the small blood storage unit for anything O negative. He doesn't want to give her any of his blood if he can avoid it, and since he doesn't know her blood type, he only feels safe giving her O negative. There's seven bags, hopefully it'll be enough. If not, can do a blood test on her later, but now he has to focus on stopping the bleeding.

J'onn continuously applies pressure to the wound, hoping that the bleeding will eventually cease. There's not much else he can do at this point until it does. From personal experience he knows stomach wounds can be tricky. She's lucky she wasn't hit in a major artery. After a while, it seems the bleeding is finally under control. He begins the first round of blood transfusions, now that he's fairly confident she won't bleed it out.

_"J'onn, they're coming!" _Billy shouts through their link, _"I'll stall for as long I can, but you need to hurry up."_

He wanted to check her out for any internal bleeding, but unfortunately there's no time. He bandages up Zatanna's wound, and takes all the equipment he thinks he'll need, and packs it in an insulated bag.

_"We're good to go Billy."_

-o-

_"Jay, Milagro where are you two? Are you ok?" _It's J'onn, it had been a while since either had heard from them, and he sounds a bit worried.

_"We're fine, and I'm not sure where we are J'onn. This place is a total labyrinth." _Milagro answers.

_"Still no sign on any of them either." _Jay adds.

They had wandered into a colder and darker part of the basement. They've been searching for nearly 2 hours, and still haven't seen any signs of Wally or Mal, let alone Nightwing. They're starting to get a bit worried. Could they have been captured, or something worse?

_"There's still guards lurking all over the place. Be careful, and if you don't find anything soon, you should just head back."_

_"But what about Mal and Wally? We can't leave them here!" _Milagro says, aghast.

_"Yes, but if you stay down there much longer, you'll be killed. I'll keep trying to find them, keep us updated if you find anything."_

_"Will do J'onn." Jay tells him._

"Hey what's that?" Milagro asks Jay. Pointing at a small, barely noticeable dent on the ground.

"What's what? I don't see anything." Jay responds.

"Urgh… it's so dark down here. Lemme give us some more light." She creates a flashlight, giving off a luminous, green glow. She shines it on the ground, revealing a trap door. It's a good thing Milagro has good eyes, otherwise they would've walked right past it. It blends into the ground almost seamlessly.

"What do you think's down there?" Jay asks.

"Only way to find out." Milagro says, she breaks the lock, and shines a light into the darkness. "It looks safe, but there's no way to be sure until we go down there. Shall I lead the way?"

"Sounds good to me." There's a rope ladder that leads them down into a small chamber. Their only source of light is Milagro's flashlight. They search the room, looking for anything related to Wally, Mal, or Dick. It looks like an old lab. At one point in time, it must have been heavily used, but now it's dusty and abandoned.

"It looks empty." Milagro says, disappointed.

"Maybe." Jay muses, "Or maybe we're missing something. Shine you light back on that wall."

Milagro does as he says, and sees it too. It's another door, with words written in some strange language. "I can translate it with my ring. It says, Test Subject, Authorized Personnel Only. Test subject, does that mean…"

Jay's ahead of her, already opening the door. This room is even smaller than the one they're already in, but there's someone inside hooked up to some wires. He's incredibly thin, what once must have been muscle is now skin and bone. And while his features look young he seems very worn out. At first he blocks his face from the light, but once he's able to see he grins, a huge, genuine smile.

Milagro's only seen a few pictures of Nightwing, but she recognizes him instantly.

"I-I don't believe it." His voice sounds thin and raspy, as though it's worn from disuse, "You found me."

She can't help but smile back, "Of course we did. Now come on, let's get you out of here."


	15. Epilogue

El Paso, Texas

January 2 16:44 MST

His legs are shaky, and can barely hold his weight. Billy holds out an arm for support, but he turns him down. Dick's determined to walk on his own.

He'd been shut away for over three years, never hearing anything about what was going on in the world outside. Never, not even in his nightmares, could he have imagined this is what it would be. They'd been slowly catching him up, but he's certain they're keeping things from him. It took an hour of prying before he found out about the Watchtower. There was some sort of ceremony when they added Mal and Wally. They didn't want him to watch, but he had to. He had to see that it was real.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Billy asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Really Dick, if it's too much for you, J'onn and I can take you back."

"No! I want to be here. I want to say goodbye."

Zatanna had passed away last night from what J'onn thought was internal bleeding. He said it was a miracle she held out as long as she did. He didn't see anything miraculous about it.

They would have a short memorial today. Not just for her, but everyone who died in the past few days. they were going to cremate her. J'onn wanted to bury her, but they had to be absolutely certain The Reach would never find her body.

They each say a few brief words, nothing especially eloquent or moving, just recounting old memories and how much the fallen would be missed. Otherwise, the memorial proceeds without a sound until Billy lights the fire.

"Hey, where'd Milagro go?" Dick asks, unceremoniously breaking the silence. She'd been standing right next to them a few minutes ago.

"I'm right here." She responds a short distance away. She's walking back towards them, as though she left them briefly and was now coming back.

"Um… interesting outfit." He comments, confused as to why she's now wearing her Green Lantern uniform.

"Yeah. Um… I have some news I'd been meaning to tell you guys. I've been summoned to Oa. Err.. actually they've been summoning me for a while, and I've kinda been putting it off."

"How long is a while?" J'onn asks.

"Err... since I got the ring." She answers sheepishly, "Technically, a Green Lantern on Reach property is a violation of Guardian space treaty, and I'm kind of breaking intergalactic law being here."

"But the Earth isn't reach property." Dick states.

"Since they were invited, it is. But that's why I'm going to Oa, I have to convince them that we still haven't completely surrendered to them."

"And what if you can't" Billy asks grimly.

"I don't know." She responds. "Best case scenario, they strip me of my ring and send me back to Earth. Worst case, well, I don't even want to think about it. I'm going to fly a few hundred miles away, so if the Reach see me take off, they can't track it to your location, then I'll leave, and hopefully be back soon.

She turns to Dick, "I'm really sorry to have to leave so soon. I wish we could have had more time together."

"It can't be avoided."

"Yeah, I guess so. Still, I hate leaving you so shorthanded. Goodbye you guys. I'll miss you all so much." She gives them each a quick hug, and brushing a tear from her cheek, she flies off.

"So, what do we do now Nightwing?" Billy asks after she's flown out of sight.

"I- I don't know." Nightwing responds.

"Well, you're in charge, aren't you?"

He scoffs, "You want me to lead? If you remember correctly, I was never very good at it. Besides there's only three of us. That's not much of a team."

"Well, four if you count Jay." Billy adds, "He said when he left we could call whenever we wanted to."

"Yeah, but-"

J'onn interrupts, "Five, for Milagro. Six for La'gaan, maybe even more if he's found more people."

"Okay, six people, we can't take down The Reach, with six people."

"Then we'll have find more." J'onn responds

"Find more?" He shouts, "Where are we supposed to find more?" He thinks for a moment, "Wait, of course! The workers, there's got to be some of them with the courage to stand up for themselves. We shouldn't isolate ourselves like you were doing before. That's why you were never successful, the population was against you. We'll disperse ourselves in the population and gain support that way. We'll organize a rebellion from the inside! That's our next move! What do you say, are you in?"

"Definitely!" Billy shouts.

"It seems risky, but with some planning, I think maybe, just maybe, we could pull it off."

"Of course we'll plan. We'll have plans, and backups, and backups for our backups. It will be the most organized thing I've ever-" He tries to go on, but his vocal cords give out, as does the restof his body. He collapses into a heap on the ground.

"First things first though." J'onn says, offering him a hand, "You need to get your strength back."

"Yeah, no dangerous plans until you can stand for a full hour."

He can't think of any counter argument for that, so he just laughs, "I guess all this bed rest will give me more time to make it fool proof. In the meantime, let's head back to base."

"Need any help?" J'onn asks.

"No, I'll be okay on my own." Now more than ever, he's determined to walk on his own.


End file.
